Now, next day, Lawton Virginia… at my niece’s house… The bird is in… the first bottle of champagne is open. There is food out on the counter… there are kids… my grand nieces and nephews under foot… its Thanksgiving as thanksgiving should be…
The bird is done, the stuffing too,
the gravy hot, mash potatoes too
Green beans; its Thanksgiving and we are feeling fine…
Phone calls awaiting from over seas
The kids are asking what’s for me
Jen is bribing the kids to go and hide
Its Thanksgiving, and we all have gathered here….
Wood and wine, we are all here…
Soon it time for pie…
Pecan and pumpkin and cream too…
Kellie is spraying whipped cream into everyone’s mouth…
Its Thanksgiving in Virginia…
Friday morning… we sleep in… we get up… Metro into DC… stop at a Starbucks for coffee and a danish… then on to the National Art Museum… They have a Di Vinci… then across the mall to the Air and Space Museum… We have special responsibilities, we are carrying a “Flat Stanley” visiting us from outside Chicago… and we need photos for Cassidy, his person… We meet another family carrying a flat Stanley in the Air and Space Museum… a group photo is needed… after a quick visit we are off to the Museum of the American Indian… The museum is challenging… it is hard to understand… I hated it after my first visit but now after 4 or 5 visits think it is an inspired museum which asks you to think… Tina is still not sure… we tried to eat in their café… but the lines were significant… off to a Mexican place behind the Library of Congress then back to the Botanical Garden, which had a special Christmas train and village exhibit… the exhibit was great… we spent more time than expected, then walked to Metro for a trip back to Matt’s to reclaim the car and join everyone else at Gaylord’s National Harbor… a destination Convention site and resort across the Potomac. Mike, Jen’s husband works there and we were off for their “ICE” exhibit… an carved ice village in a tent… kept at 9 degrees… They issue everyone heavy blue jackets… we explore… we ride the ice slide… a week ago I was testing water slides… now Ice slides… then off to the hotel lobby for tree lighting, indoor snow, and water and light shows… there were fireworks outside as well… after enjoying the festivities, and deciding that eating in any of their restaurants would involve a wait of hours we made for old town Alexandria… ended up in a high end Italian place… the kids were well behaved… all was good… we had wine (all was good) now home… getting ready for bed.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Slouching towards Thanksgiving….
Late Tuesday night we (T & I) were off to SFO to catch the red eye for Thanksgiving in Virginia (yes Christina there is a Virginia)
The extra daughter, feeder of cats and other animals, drove us, dropping us off at the appropriate gate… an hour and a half before out flight is scheduled to leave…
We were carrying half a case of wine, that needed to be checked… and had included the checked baggage when checking in… we went to the proper counter… all check in stations occupied… a short line, and a noticeable lack of any United Airlines Employees behind the counter… We had seen this before… on a previous United flight… again a busy evening… and all staff abandoned a counter with guest waiting, and waiting, and beginning to panic… After 10 minutes or so a porter tells us to go to a different counter… a general check-in counter, not the have boarding passes but needs to check bags counter… Again, all stations in use… at least there is an employee this time… Another employee sensing my frustration comes over… I believe a supervisor, and gets me served… then off to the security lines… which are quite long… We get through and get to the gate, as they are calling our boarding group…
We get seats and bin space… others don’t and have to gate check, some not receiving receipts for the bags… There has to be a better way to handle baggage and fees…
We arrive in DC about dawn, in a drippy fog… make our way across the airport… at Dulles this involves this involves shuttles that give you a second chance to experience de-boarding…
Our wine arrives without damage at the oversize item area, the daughter arrives within minutes of us going outside and off we go in to DC traffic…
Breakfast in an Alexandria café… rendezvous with the nephew (we are staying at his condo, he is going to Michigan for Thanksgiving… ) Matt lives next to a metro station… We board the metro and go off to the Pentagon for a tour… (thanks to Jackie Spear.) The Pentagon has high security (who would have thought that?) We clear security, then go to the waiting area… then the tour… It’s a good tour, with various hall ways dedicated to military history and honoring various groups and events… the 9-11 memorial is small but powerful…
Leaving the Pentagon, we back track to the condo to pick up cameras and change… then off to DC
Metro to the Eastern Market where they have moved the food stalls back into the old brick building after the fire… In deference to Pikes they don’t throw fish here… but in one stall they were throwing turkey… not for show, but to move them from a cart to the cooler… we have Crab cake sandwiches… We look but there are no butternut squash in evidence.
From the market we walk to the Library of Congress… I need to get to upgrade my card, so we go over to the reader registration room… I get a new card and Tina gets a card… Steph already has a card… All now equipped with current cards we take Tina for a tour of the Jefferson Building… since we all have cards we can explore the Jefferson reading room, the “temple of books”
From the LOC we walk past the Capital, to the mall… then split up, I am want to spend time in a library, but they are closed… I spend a few minutes with “Jupiter” a 1876 steam locomotive I am fond of… we rendezvous at the Museum of Natural History, Then explore the Museum of American History… We last until closing, then walk over to the National Portrait Gallery, via the Navy Memorial…
From the Portrait Gallery, take Metro to Union Station for dinner at the Capital City Brewery… home via metro, then Steph and I go off in search of butter nut squash and more wine… I didn’t see a need to carry the champagne from California when it can be found here, and its always nice to have a back up bottle or two… There seems to be a shortage of butternut squash in the DC area… none found near California Maryland… only a couple of small ones at the Eastern Market in DC… and Safeway has none… couple of stops later we have both…
Now, next day, Lawton Virginia… at my niece’s house… The bird is in… the first bottle of champagne is open. There is food out on the counter… there are kids… my grand nieces and nephews under foot… its Thanksgiving as thanksgiving should be…
The extra daughter, feeder of cats and other animals, drove us, dropping us off at the appropriate gate… an hour and a half before out flight is scheduled to leave…
We were carrying half a case of wine, that needed to be checked… and had included the checked baggage when checking in… we went to the proper counter… all check in stations occupied… a short line, and a noticeable lack of any United Airlines Employees behind the counter… We had seen this before… on a previous United flight… again a busy evening… and all staff abandoned a counter with guest waiting, and waiting, and beginning to panic… After 10 minutes or so a porter tells us to go to a different counter… a general check-in counter, not the have boarding passes but needs to check bags counter… Again, all stations in use… at least there is an employee this time… Another employee sensing my frustration comes over… I believe a supervisor, and gets me served… then off to the security lines… which are quite long… We get through and get to the gate, as they are calling our boarding group…
We get seats and bin space… others don’t and have to gate check, some not receiving receipts for the bags… There has to be a better way to handle baggage and fees…
We arrive in DC about dawn, in a drippy fog… make our way across the airport… at Dulles this involves this involves shuttles that give you a second chance to experience de-boarding…
Our wine arrives without damage at the oversize item area, the daughter arrives within minutes of us going outside and off we go in to DC traffic…
Breakfast in an Alexandria café… rendezvous with the nephew (we are staying at his condo, he is going to Michigan for Thanksgiving… ) Matt lives next to a metro station… We board the metro and go off to the Pentagon for a tour… (thanks to Jackie Spear.) The Pentagon has high security (who would have thought that?) We clear security, then go to the waiting area… then the tour… It’s a good tour, with various hall ways dedicated to military history and honoring various groups and events… the 9-11 memorial is small but powerful…
Leaving the Pentagon, we back track to the condo to pick up cameras and change… then off to DC
Metro to the Eastern Market where they have moved the food stalls back into the old brick building after the fire… In deference to Pikes they don’t throw fish here… but in one stall they were throwing turkey… not for show, but to move them from a cart to the cooler… we have Crab cake sandwiches… We look but there are no butternut squash in evidence.
From the market we walk to the Library of Congress… I need to get to upgrade my card, so we go over to the reader registration room… I get a new card and Tina gets a card… Steph already has a card… All now equipped with current cards we take Tina for a tour of the Jefferson Building… since we all have cards we can explore the Jefferson reading room, the “temple of books”
From the LOC we walk past the Capital, to the mall… then split up, I am want to spend time in a library, but they are closed… I spend a few minutes with “Jupiter” a 1876 steam locomotive I am fond of… we rendezvous at the Museum of Natural History, Then explore the Museum of American History… We last until closing, then walk over to the National Portrait Gallery, via the Navy Memorial…
From the Portrait Gallery, take Metro to Union Station for dinner at the Capital City Brewery… home via metro, then Steph and I go off in search of butter nut squash and more wine… I didn’t see a need to carry the champagne from California when it can be found here, and its always nice to have a back up bottle or two… There seems to be a shortage of butternut squash in the DC area… none found near California Maryland… only a couple of small ones at the Eastern Market in DC… and Safeway has none… couple of stops later we have both…
Now, next day, Lawton Virginia… at my niece’s house… The bird is in… the first bottle of champagne is open. There is food out on the counter… there are kids… my grand nieces and nephews under foot… its Thanksgiving as thanksgiving should be…
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
T- 3 and counting…
T and I are off to Virginia and Maryland for Thanksgiving in just over 3 hours. So far only the wine is packed… but the rest will take care of itself… The wine (six bottles was an issue… it has to be checked, and we are flying United, and United breaks guitars, and I am sure they are certainly capable of breaking or otherwise mistreating wine… So I bought a wine shipping box with a heavy Styrofoam liner, wrapped precious bottle and sealed the whole thing with lots of tape… it will have to do…
The plan (as much as we have one… overnight flight arriving at Dulles some time near dawn… The daughter will meet us… we will find some breakfast, maybe in Manassas (also known as Bull Run if you follow the Northern point of view related to the War of Northern aggression), find our way to Alexandria, where we will be staying… then metro to the Pentagon for a tour… then off to Washington DC… We want to visit the Library of Congress (I need to upgrade my card so I can put in pulls electronically) and a couple of the Smithsonians… I plan on taking a look at a few things in the Museum of American History Archives while the ladies are next door at the Museum of Natural History… We will probably do lunch at the Eastern Market…
Eventually we will make it back to Alexandria for the night.
Thursday is of course with family at one of our nieces in Lawton Virginia… Friday is so far free, and Friday evening there is a Christmas evening program at Mt Vernon that sounds interesting. Saturday we will probably in California Maryland, and Sunday we end in Baltimore, staging for a very early flight on Monday…
The plan (as much as we have one… overnight flight arriving at Dulles some time near dawn… The daughter will meet us… we will find some breakfast, maybe in Manassas (also known as Bull Run if you follow the Northern point of view related to the War of Northern aggression), find our way to Alexandria, where we will be staying… then metro to the Pentagon for a tour… then off to Washington DC… We want to visit the Library of Congress (I need to upgrade my card so I can put in pulls electronically) and a couple of the Smithsonians… I plan on taking a look at a few things in the Museum of American History Archives while the ladies are next door at the Museum of Natural History… We will probably do lunch at the Eastern Market…
Eventually we will make it back to Alexandria for the night.
Thursday is of course with family at one of our nieces in Lawton Virginia… Friday is so far free, and Friday evening there is a Christmas evening program at Mt Vernon that sounds interesting. Saturday we will probably in California Maryland, and Sunday we end in Baltimore, staging for a very early flight on Monday…
Sunday, November 22, 2009
One Year - a Mile Stone...
Today it this blog’s first anniversary… a milestone…
I started it on a whim… I was attending the Lern Conference… Lern is a consulting group serving life long learning and Recreation programs… their message is about how to identify and reach your customers, how to develop classes… they are pretty good at what they do…Our City Recreation Department follows the Lern principals… in a really crappy environment it has worked well for us…
At that Lern conference I was particularly interested in generational marketing and electronic marketing… One talk (really many talks) got my attention… it was on social networks… Facebook and such… I was excited… I made plans… but our management team is suspicious of new things, and I was not allowed to use electronic marketing… we are allowed to use email newsletters… but the soft wear chosen is clumsy…
With the enthusiasm that comes from a good conference I joined Facebook, I started blogging… but not for work… for me… I have files on the cloud… I haven’t embraced Twitter, but I probably will try…
So today is the first anniversary of the blog… in the last year I have made 75 posts… a post every 5 days or so… I find I am enjoying it… I am compelled to continue… to find more things to post about… I have a Picasa page… with photos… it calls me as well. I continue to use Facebook… I find connections on Facebook… it works for me…
If you are reading this you have joined my world… welcome…
I started it on a whim… I was attending the Lern Conference… Lern is a consulting group serving life long learning and Recreation programs… their message is about how to identify and reach your customers, how to develop classes… they are pretty good at what they do…Our City Recreation Department follows the Lern principals… in a really crappy environment it has worked well for us…
At that Lern conference I was particularly interested in generational marketing and electronic marketing… One talk (really many talks) got my attention… it was on social networks… Facebook and such… I was excited… I made plans… but our management team is suspicious of new things, and I was not allowed to use electronic marketing… we are allowed to use email newsletters… but the soft wear chosen is clumsy…
With the enthusiasm that comes from a good conference I joined Facebook, I started blogging… but not for work… for me… I have files on the cloud… I haven’t embraced Twitter, but I probably will try…
So today is the first anniversary of the blog… in the last year I have made 75 posts… a post every 5 days or so… I find I am enjoying it… I am compelled to continue… to find more things to post about… I have a Picasa page… with photos… it calls me as well. I continue to use Facebook… I find connections on Facebook… it works for me…
If you are reading this you have joined my world… welcome…
Friday, November 20, 2009
Unicorn Chomping Pinko Commies and Water Slides…
Yesterday I got to see Alton Brown… aka Good Eats… He gave a talk at Google… T works at Google… Alton was doing a lecture for YouTube… on Thanksgiving… I got to go…
The lecture is on line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWJGHOpm9Lo
It was really good… Alton knew he was at Google… he talked about Google… he teased Marrissa, the Google goddess… She was a good Sheila and not at all stuck up (Monty Python Reference… Alton would approve)
Then off to work… decorating a Victorian house.. we ended the day with the capture of Fluffy, a feral kitten who we have been caring for … we now know she is a she… and not anymore as of Friday evening…
Today, I got to be a Water Slide tester… at 10:00… cold, windy… we gathered at the water park… we were promised 90 degree water… (it was) for our testing…We stripped down… We went outside… We climbed the stairs… We were cold… We jumped into the water slide…. We slid… We Splashed… We did it again…
Having provided information about water flow and such… we went home or to work…. I went to the music store… and bought CDs
The lecture is on line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWJGHOpm9Lo
It was really good… Alton knew he was at Google… he talked about Google… he teased Marrissa, the Google goddess… She was a good Sheila and not at all stuck up (Monty Python Reference… Alton would approve)
Then off to work… decorating a Victorian house.. we ended the day with the capture of Fluffy, a feral kitten who we have been caring for … we now know she is a she… and not anymore as of Friday evening…
Today, I got to be a Water Slide tester… at 10:00… cold, windy… we gathered at the water park… we were promised 90 degree water… (it was) for our testing…We stripped down… We went outside… We climbed the stairs… We were cold… We jumped into the water slide…. We slid… We Splashed… We did it again…
Having provided information about water flow and such… we went home or to work…. I went to the music store… and bought CDs
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Fall has arrived… in the land of no seasons…
It’s not a calendar thing… It’s not the store ads that weigh down the newspaper or the catalogs that the mail brings….
It’s beyond the leaves… beyond the early night fall… Fall has arrived…
Tonight it’s dark, very dark courtesy of a very thin, spectacularly thin crescent moon. It’s cold… while days are pleasant, the temperature drops fast as the sun falls.
At work, and at home, I am gathering and splitting fire wood … lighting fires… the smell of wood smoke is both a sign and part of the transition…
We start to cocoon… wear sweaters, hide in our circle of warmth… We think of tropical vacations…
I make soup.
I am starting to think of Christmas lights… of trees inside… of festive dinners…
This winter is seems mostly I am traveling… that seems at odds with cocooning… but it seems to work for me… It also means I am thinking of shedding stuff… losing that I don’t need but keep just for the keeping… probably not enough stuff to make a difference.
Or I can make more soup and empty the refrigerator and freezer… It’s all about soup…
Randy
It’s beyond the leaves… beyond the early night fall… Fall has arrived…
Tonight it’s dark, very dark courtesy of a very thin, spectacularly thin crescent moon. It’s cold… while days are pleasant, the temperature drops fast as the sun falls.
At work, and at home, I am gathering and splitting fire wood … lighting fires… the smell of wood smoke is both a sign and part of the transition…
We start to cocoon… wear sweaters, hide in our circle of warmth… We think of tropical vacations…
I make soup.
I am starting to think of Christmas lights… of trees inside… of festive dinners…
This winter is seems mostly I am traveling… that seems at odds with cocooning… but it seems to work for me… It also means I am thinking of shedding stuff… losing that I don’t need but keep just for the keeping… probably not enough stuff to make a difference.
Or I can make more soup and empty the refrigerator and freezer… It’s all about soup…
Randy
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wine tasting
We need wine for Thanksgiving… I have written about this before… so today T and I went wine tasting…
Wine tasting is a very common local tourist activity… we are close to wineries… lots of wineries… we enjoy wine… we visit wine country… regularly… we have wine grapes in our backyard… but for the last 15 years or so we haven’t gone wine tasting… probably for the same reasons that New Yorkers don’t visit the Statue of Liberty…
Off to the north… to the Russian River area… near Healdsburg… Its about 100 miles away… The official goal was a Pinot Noir to partner with the turkey… Some years ago (15 years + some years ago) we really enjoyed a Pinot made by Bear Boat… at the time it was made by either J Winery (who mostly make Champagne) or their neighbor Rodney Strong… Now it’s made in Hopland, another 100 miles north… I haven’t found it at our local wine shops, so we decided to drive north and find an alternative…
First stop Rodney Strong… Good Pinot, but not “The” Pinot, but we really liked their “Symmetry”, a Meritage red… we bought that for Thanksgiving plus a Cab, and a really good Zin for home consumption, and a Port … we are taking that on the South American Cruise… We were looking for a oaky chardonnay, but didn’t find it. We asked for and got suggestions for other wineries…
Then off to Healdsburg and lunch in a tapas place… great lunch… Tina had a glass of David Bruce Chardonnay that gave us a fall back if we didn’t find anything else… (fall back doesn’t do the wine justice… it just wasn’t yet THE wine…) we walked about a bit around the square bought Emma (our dog) a Christmas scarf, and found the Kendal Jackson tasting room… They have a really nice soft Pinot… a great red wine for people who might otherwise drink white wine…It makes the dinner list. We buy a bottle… plus a Cabernet Franc for us…
Then off up along Dry Creek Valley… It is fall, the grapes have been harvested, the leaves are turning colors, the trees are changing colors… this isn’t Vermont, but it is fall in a beautiful place….
The folks at Rodney Strong had recommended several wineries… first Papapietro-Perry… they make Pinots and Zinfandels… They are up on a hill with 4 other small wineries and an olive works… We only visited Papapietro Perry… we tasted 2 Zins and 2 Pinots… we bought a Pinot…this one for us… They have a winery dog, complete with a tag on his collar saying “please don’t feed me”… They started making wine in their garage… we are now making wine in our garage… do I see a future for us… Tina doesn’t think so…
Finally we cross over to the west side of the valley to visit Preston… a winery with 13 cats in place of the typical dogs… Its more than just a winery… they have a garden and vegetable for sale… anything you want for $2.00 a lb… olives, and wine, all organic… from a solar powered building… We bought a pinot for home consumption here…
We headed home… stopped for ice cream in San Rafael, across the bridge… San Francisco at dusk… it was really pretty, clear skies and a brightly lit skyline, a ferry passing Alcatraz… we drove south along the Embarcadero…
At home we unload the wine, set the bottles aside for the trip to Virginia… then as I put the other bottles away I find that I have 3 bottles of 2004 Trefethen Chardonnay stashed away… perfect for the Chardonnay for the dinner… so now we only need a champagne… That shouldn’t take a tasting trip…
On other things…
T and I are trying to loose weight… lots of weight… we plan to loose a kindergartner each… We are doing this together… mostly watching calories, (goal, 1,200 to 1,500 a day) and shrinking portions… it’s working… we are both down more than 25 lbs… each, 50 lbs combined… even with eating out a couple of times a week… So today on the travel channel (sometimes a better food channel than Food TV) they visit a place that deep fries Twinkies… and announce a deep fried Twinkie has no less than 785 calories… I think I will pass…
On the travel front, my son is planning a trip for us… Spring 2011… yes, 18 months out… He figures his ship will be returning from an overseas deployment… and on the return from an overseas deployment the Navy usually offers sailors (and even officers) a chance to invite family and friends to join the ship’s company for a “Tiger Cruise”. I joined the crew of the DDG 86, the Shoup just over a year ago as they sailed from Hawaii to Everett Washington… We, the HT and DC group, with dad’s and one grandpa had a great time… the kids want to do it again, including inviting at least one sailor who has since left the Navy and his dad… I’m in…
And finally, the “New Years Cross Country drive” is taking shape… We picked up the car Saturday… I realized that our route will take us through Amarillo Texas, home of the Cadillac Ranch (http://www.libertysoftware.be/cml/cadillacranch/crmain.htm) , a 1970’s art installation by “Ant Farm” consisting of 10 post war Cadillacs buried nose down, tail fins up, as history of design, and a statement of the future of automobiles… It makes an appearance in Pixar’s CARS. It is iconic… They published a book about the project in 1976…. As a recent high school graduate I bought a copy… the project ignited my imagination… I still have the book. Now I will make the pilgrimage to the site… They suggest we take spray cans and contribute… will it be flames, or maybe a decoupage… Maybe pages from the book… I am not sure… but it needs to be something….
Wine tasting is a very common local tourist activity… we are close to wineries… lots of wineries… we enjoy wine… we visit wine country… regularly… we have wine grapes in our backyard… but for the last 15 years or so we haven’t gone wine tasting… probably for the same reasons that New Yorkers don’t visit the Statue of Liberty…
Off to the north… to the Russian River area… near Healdsburg… Its about 100 miles away… The official goal was a Pinot Noir to partner with the turkey… Some years ago (15 years + some years ago) we really enjoyed a Pinot made by Bear Boat… at the time it was made by either J Winery (who mostly make Champagne) or their neighbor Rodney Strong… Now it’s made in Hopland, another 100 miles north… I haven’t found it at our local wine shops, so we decided to drive north and find an alternative…
First stop Rodney Strong… Good Pinot, but not “The” Pinot, but we really liked their “Symmetry”, a Meritage red… we bought that for Thanksgiving plus a Cab, and a really good Zin for home consumption, and a Port … we are taking that on the South American Cruise… We were looking for a oaky chardonnay, but didn’t find it. We asked for and got suggestions for other wineries…
Then off to Healdsburg and lunch in a tapas place… great lunch… Tina had a glass of David Bruce Chardonnay that gave us a fall back if we didn’t find anything else… (fall back doesn’t do the wine justice… it just wasn’t yet THE wine…) we walked about a bit around the square bought Emma (our dog) a Christmas scarf, and found the Kendal Jackson tasting room… They have a really nice soft Pinot… a great red wine for people who might otherwise drink white wine…It makes the dinner list. We buy a bottle… plus a Cabernet Franc for us…
Then off up along Dry Creek Valley… It is fall, the grapes have been harvested, the leaves are turning colors, the trees are changing colors… this isn’t Vermont, but it is fall in a beautiful place….
The folks at Rodney Strong had recommended several wineries… first Papapietro-Perry… they make Pinots and Zinfandels… They are up on a hill with 4 other small wineries and an olive works… We only visited Papapietro Perry… we tasted 2 Zins and 2 Pinots… we bought a Pinot…this one for us… They have a winery dog, complete with a tag on his collar saying “please don’t feed me”… They started making wine in their garage… we are now making wine in our garage… do I see a future for us… Tina doesn’t think so…
Finally we cross over to the west side of the valley to visit Preston… a winery with 13 cats in place of the typical dogs… Its more than just a winery… they have a garden and vegetable for sale… anything you want for $2.00 a lb… olives, and wine, all organic… from a solar powered building… We bought a pinot for home consumption here…
We headed home… stopped for ice cream in San Rafael, across the bridge… San Francisco at dusk… it was really pretty, clear skies and a brightly lit skyline, a ferry passing Alcatraz… we drove south along the Embarcadero…
At home we unload the wine, set the bottles aside for the trip to Virginia… then as I put the other bottles away I find that I have 3 bottles of 2004 Trefethen Chardonnay stashed away… perfect for the Chardonnay for the dinner… so now we only need a champagne… That shouldn’t take a tasting trip…
On other things…
T and I are trying to loose weight… lots of weight… we plan to loose a kindergartner each… We are doing this together… mostly watching calories, (goal, 1,200 to 1,500 a day) and shrinking portions… it’s working… we are both down more than 25 lbs… each, 50 lbs combined… even with eating out a couple of times a week… So today on the travel channel (sometimes a better food channel than Food TV) they visit a place that deep fries Twinkies… and announce a deep fried Twinkie has no less than 785 calories… I think I will pass…
On the travel front, my son is planning a trip for us… Spring 2011… yes, 18 months out… He figures his ship will be returning from an overseas deployment… and on the return from an overseas deployment the Navy usually offers sailors (and even officers) a chance to invite family and friends to join the ship’s company for a “Tiger Cruise”. I joined the crew of the DDG 86, the Shoup just over a year ago as they sailed from Hawaii to Everett Washington… We, the HT and DC group, with dad’s and one grandpa had a great time… the kids want to do it again, including inviting at least one sailor who has since left the Navy and his dad… I’m in…
And finally, the “New Years Cross Country drive” is taking shape… We picked up the car Saturday… I realized that our route will take us through Amarillo Texas, home of the Cadillac Ranch (http://www.libertysoftware.be/cml/cadillacranch/crmain.htm) , a 1970’s art installation by “Ant Farm” consisting of 10 post war Cadillacs buried nose down, tail fins up, as history of design, and a statement of the future of automobiles… It makes an appearance in Pixar’s CARS. It is iconic… They published a book about the project in 1976…. As a recent high school graduate I bought a copy… the project ignited my imagination… I still have the book. Now I will make the pilgrimage to the site… They suggest we take spray cans and contribute… will it be flames, or maybe a decoupage… Maybe pages from the book… I am not sure… but it needs to be something….
Saturday, November 14, 2009
It’s Thanksgiving and other November Holidays… at least at Patterson House…
Wednesday we had the day off thanks to a holiday to thank our military veterans… It’s a good reason to celebrate…
It also gives me a day to cook… a lot…
Thursday began the last week of regular tours at Patterson House, my home away from home… Monday starts Christmas… at least decorating, we don’t start tours until December 4th…
To mark the occasion we have a pot luck “Thanksgiving dinner”… I cook a turkey, stuffing and gravy… the docents bring the rest of the fixings… I finish the turkey in the wood burning stove at the house… but a 22lb turkey takes 5 hours, maybe 6, so I start it at home, then about 7:00 or so take it to work…
So I have been chopping onions, celery, and carrots, while the turkey took a bath to promote thawing… (I have been thawing him for 3 days in the fridge…) I am assembling ingredients for two stuffings (regular and oyster) gathering supplies and tools to take to work… flour and broth for the gravy, carving knives, a turkey baster…
I am also gathering various leftover vegetable bits, celery tops, carrot tops, onion skins for a soup stock… to be made from the turkey carcass, for a pot of vegetable soup to be served Monday to the decorators… In 5 short days we should be able to completely consume the poor bird with little going to waste…
There are many schools of thought on how to cook a turkey… most of us only do it once a year… so most of us find it necessary to relearn or reinvent the process annually… I keep notes, so its more of a review than a relearning… My method; thaw the bird, salt and pepper bird inside and out. I like to separate the skin from the meat, they place butter and herbs between. Stuff loosely with roughly chopped carrots, celery, onions and maybe herbs… (thyme and sage)… tie the legs, wrap the wings in foil… place breast up on a rack in a roasting pan. Dump any extra vegetables in the pan, add several cups of water…
I cook the bird at 325 or so, if in doubt on the low side… Sometimes I start the bird at 450 then turn the oven down after I put it in… Several cook books swear by this… so sometimes I do it…
I then cook the bird for 20 minutes a lb… this years big boy should take between 6 and 7 hours… I target 10:00 as a finish time so it can set, I can carve, and make gravy in time for a 11:00 meal… So it needs to go in about 2:00 am… Cooking a turkey takes planning and a commitment.
Of course there is also a lot of paranoia about food safety… warnings about how to thaw, about how to protect the bird from bacteria, and how to handle leftovers… This is all made more difficult because most of us don’t handle a hunk of meat this big… and don’t have refrigerator space and such… I try to keep it all clean and cold, and so far haven’t killed anyone… I will continue to try…
The real secrete to how to cook a turkey is how to consume it… not the at the big dinner, or plate of leftovers heated in the microwave the next day, or the turkey sandwiches the following day, but the rest of it… I have docents to consume the turkey meet, but the carcass is what is really special… I break it up, stuffed it in a huge stock pot, added all the veggies I roasted inside, and the trimmings saved from the celery and onions used in the stuffing and a bunch of old parsley, then cooked it all night… I pulled out the carcass, then reduced the stock for another 12 hours… then strained it though paper towels (they catch everything, including much of the fat)… To the stock I will add carrots, chopped onion, celery, zucchini, and Italian sausage, all browned in olive oil… plus a can of kidney beans, and a can of crushed tomatoes… It will be a soup for the first day of Christmas decorating…
On other stuff… we are honoring veterans this November (there is a holiday dedicated to Veterans, I think I mentioned it before…) At Patterson House it means we change the scatter… the stuff on the desks, beds and such… The Patterson House had an involvement in World War I… the two boys, Henry and William were both too old for service, but they both served on the board that organized and promoted War bond sales. Part of that included helping to organize a War Bond train… A Victory train. The boys were given souvenirs… Henry was given a Pickelhaube… a German spiked helmet. His brother got a couple of Pickelhaubes, along with a trench shotgun (with bayonet) and the magneto from a German plane, complete with a bullet hole from the bullet that shot it down…. The plane is now in the Smithsonian… the Grandson returned the magneto a few years ago… the hole in the side of the plane matched the hole in the magneto…
Back to Patterson House… we have stuff about… we have a display about making socks for solders… we have photos of the Victory train… Upstairs we have Marjorie’s Marine Corp jacket and letters from home… Our guests seem to appreciate the effort…
Bye for now… Randy
It also gives me a day to cook… a lot…
Thursday began the last week of regular tours at Patterson House, my home away from home… Monday starts Christmas… at least decorating, we don’t start tours until December 4th…
To mark the occasion we have a pot luck “Thanksgiving dinner”… I cook a turkey, stuffing and gravy… the docents bring the rest of the fixings… I finish the turkey in the wood burning stove at the house… but a 22lb turkey takes 5 hours, maybe 6, so I start it at home, then about 7:00 or so take it to work…
So I have been chopping onions, celery, and carrots, while the turkey took a bath to promote thawing… (I have been thawing him for 3 days in the fridge…) I am assembling ingredients for two stuffings (regular and oyster) gathering supplies and tools to take to work… flour and broth for the gravy, carving knives, a turkey baster…
I am also gathering various leftover vegetable bits, celery tops, carrot tops, onion skins for a soup stock… to be made from the turkey carcass, for a pot of vegetable soup to be served Monday to the decorators… In 5 short days we should be able to completely consume the poor bird with little going to waste…
There are many schools of thought on how to cook a turkey… most of us only do it once a year… so most of us find it necessary to relearn or reinvent the process annually… I keep notes, so its more of a review than a relearning… My method; thaw the bird, salt and pepper bird inside and out. I like to separate the skin from the meat, they place butter and herbs between. Stuff loosely with roughly chopped carrots, celery, onions and maybe herbs… (thyme and sage)… tie the legs, wrap the wings in foil… place breast up on a rack in a roasting pan. Dump any extra vegetables in the pan, add several cups of water…
I cook the bird at 325 or so, if in doubt on the low side… Sometimes I start the bird at 450 then turn the oven down after I put it in… Several cook books swear by this… so sometimes I do it…
I then cook the bird for 20 minutes a lb… this years big boy should take between 6 and 7 hours… I target 10:00 as a finish time so it can set, I can carve, and make gravy in time for a 11:00 meal… So it needs to go in about 2:00 am… Cooking a turkey takes planning and a commitment.
Of course there is also a lot of paranoia about food safety… warnings about how to thaw, about how to protect the bird from bacteria, and how to handle leftovers… This is all made more difficult because most of us don’t handle a hunk of meat this big… and don’t have refrigerator space and such… I try to keep it all clean and cold, and so far haven’t killed anyone… I will continue to try…
The real secrete to how to cook a turkey is how to consume it… not the at the big dinner, or plate of leftovers heated in the microwave the next day, or the turkey sandwiches the following day, but the rest of it… I have docents to consume the turkey meet, but the carcass is what is really special… I break it up, stuffed it in a huge stock pot, added all the veggies I roasted inside, and the trimmings saved from the celery and onions used in the stuffing and a bunch of old parsley, then cooked it all night… I pulled out the carcass, then reduced the stock for another 12 hours… then strained it though paper towels (they catch everything, including much of the fat)… To the stock I will add carrots, chopped onion, celery, zucchini, and Italian sausage, all browned in olive oil… plus a can of kidney beans, and a can of crushed tomatoes… It will be a soup for the first day of Christmas decorating…
On other stuff… we are honoring veterans this November (there is a holiday dedicated to Veterans, I think I mentioned it before…) At Patterson House it means we change the scatter… the stuff on the desks, beds and such… The Patterson House had an involvement in World War I… the two boys, Henry and William were both too old for service, but they both served on the board that organized and promoted War bond sales. Part of that included helping to organize a War Bond train… A Victory train. The boys were given souvenirs… Henry was given a Pickelhaube… a German spiked helmet. His brother got a couple of Pickelhaubes, along with a trench shotgun (with bayonet) and the magneto from a German plane, complete with a bullet hole from the bullet that shot it down…. The plane is now in the Smithsonian… the Grandson returned the magneto a few years ago… the hole in the side of the plane matched the hole in the magneto…
Back to Patterson House… we have stuff about… we have a display about making socks for solders… we have photos of the Victory train… Upstairs we have Marjorie’s Marine Corp jacket and letters from home… Our guests seem to appreciate the effort…
Bye for now… Randy
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Is it possible to travel too much?
I have been working on my work calendar for next year… I realized that I am only working three days in January… with trips planned in November, December, and February as well… There is also a trip in either August or September, one in October, and one in November… next year…
The spread sheet (the one I keep) says I will still have vacation days on the books at the end of it all.
So over Thanksgiving T and I will fly to Dules (Washington DC) stay with our daughter at our nephew’s in Arlington Virginia, with Thanksgiving in Lorton Virginia at a niece’s home… visiting a nephew’s (Fred) home in California Maryland.. He won’t be there, he’s in Iraq… but his wife (She did Afghanistan in an Apache for the Army), children, and our daughter will… Then home from DC via a night in Baltimore arriving early on Monday…
December is Matt and Suzy’s wedding (Matt is Fred’s brother… they both live in the DC area, but both were born in Las Vegas…) The wedding is in LA… The daughter is flying in from DC then driving home with us…
Two weeks (more or less) Steph and I will head east in her new (used) car…. Leaving on the evening of December 30th… New Years eve in Albuquerque New Mexico… to Oklahoma City, Amarillo Texas, Memphis, Nashville, and north via the Blue Ridge to Washington DC (and me home via Dulles)… late Tuesday January 5th… Much of the route follows old Rt 66. We will get to visit Graceland…
On January 9th T and I set out for Rio via Atlanta for a cruise to Antarctica and around the horn… 20 days… Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland’s, Chile… It’s an itinerary rich in Penguins…
Between the two trips I will be at work January 6, 7, and 8… only the 6th, 7th, and 8th
Some time in February or March I will go to DC to do some research… it’s an annual trip…
This summer, either early August or early September Brian (aka the son) and I are planning a road trip… either Yellowstone and Grand Tetons or Arches, Canyon lands and maybe Navajo National Monument… Somewhere in the intermountain west… Somewhere in the wilderness… a father son trip… before he deploys to the gulf as a Navy sailor… his second deployment… Its either buffalo or Anastasi, we haven’t yet decided….
In October its my annual trip the V&T… a historic symposium presented by the Nevada Historical Society… and the Nevada State Railroad Museum…. I go every year.
November is a trip, yet undefined… a celebration… T and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary on November 8th… We will go somewhere…
Identified options include… (there may be unidentified options):
A Mexican Riviera Cruise…. We have this booked… its obvious and easy… we have done it before.
Hawaii… Both of us have been there, but not together… maybe, but not the leading contender… It would have to include at least a couple of islands… we are not beach people (I might be… T is not) so we would be exploring….
A Caribbean cruise… most likely an Eastern or Southern Itinerary… At this point probably most likely…
Yosemite, the Ahwahnee Hotel… the sentimental favorite… We originally planned to spend our Honeymoon here… scheduling issues intervened… I might pull for a visit during the annual Briceburg Dinner…
Mean time there are piles of maps and travel guides growing on tables and other horizontal surfaces…
Learching towards more travel… Randy
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Someone told me It's all happening at the zoo.
It was our Anniversary today (T and I, our 29th…)
We went for a drive… over to Half Moon Bay… a walk about town, stopping at the used book store (they got me for a couple….) the weird antique/junk shop with the broken glass… we love the joint… then the feed and seed… I needed food for the doves…
Then lunch… Our usual place is the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co… but today we went to MezaLuna… (http://mezzalunabythesea.com) It was a wonderful meal… mussels cooked to the consistency of liver… (If you don’t like liver you won’t understand how good…) I had sea food ravioli, she a pasta with mussels… wonderful…
Then north… across Devil’s Slide… through Pacifica, to San Francisco, and the Zoo… We are members… We get in free… Our first date was the zoo… back in early 1978.
We walked about, visiting the giraffes, zebras and gorillas… via the monkeys (primates) to the koalas, kangaroos then the bears… spectacled, polar and grizzly… A walk about the big cats, tigers and lions and previously bears… to the penguins and otters…
Simon and Garfunkel said it best….
The monkeys stand for honesty,
Giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but
They're dumb. (of course we don’t have elephants any more)
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages,
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum. (Possibly but we didn’t see any evidence)
Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy, (I believe this but I believe pigeons as smart)
And hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas! You gotta come and see
At the zoo
Its all about the song track of your life…
We went for a drive… over to Half Moon Bay… a walk about town, stopping at the used book store (they got me for a couple….) the weird antique/junk shop with the broken glass… we love the joint… then the feed and seed… I needed food for the doves…
Then lunch… Our usual place is the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co… but today we went to MezaLuna… (http://mezzalunabythesea.com) It was a wonderful meal… mussels cooked to the consistency of liver… (If you don’t like liver you won’t understand how good…) I had sea food ravioli, she a pasta with mussels… wonderful…
Then north… across Devil’s Slide… through Pacifica, to San Francisco, and the Zoo… We are members… We get in free… Our first date was the zoo… back in early 1978.
We walked about, visiting the giraffes, zebras and gorillas… via the monkeys (primates) to the koalas, kangaroos then the bears… spectacled, polar and grizzly… A walk about the big cats, tigers and lions and previously bears… to the penguins and otters…
Simon and Garfunkel said it best….
The monkeys stand for honesty,
Giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but
They're dumb. (of course we don’t have elephants any more)
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages,
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum. (Possibly but we didn’t see any evidence)
Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy, (I believe this but I believe pigeons as smart)
And hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas! You gotta come and see
At the zoo
Its all about the song track of your life…
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Random thoughts and why I love KFOG
Today was a glorious waste of time… much needed…
It started with a trip to a city far away to buy a CD… KFOG (local radio station, KFOG.com )releases a “Live from the Archives” CD every year… at least for the last 16 years… there was a Warriors CD before but that doesn’t count… (It does if you have it, and I do). The CD is based on otherwise unreleased live tracks collected by the radio station… (that would be KFOG 104.5 San Francisco… a really good radio station…)
I have them all, (and the warrior's CD) bought when released… Today they released number 16… They sell them though Peet’s Coffee.. (a really good local coffee place)…
Normally I would go to my local Peets and pick up the CD… but that was before last year… Last year T and I were not home for the release… We were on our way to a cruse to celebrate our anniversary… We left our daughter at home to feed the animals (we have too many animals) and take care of things…. including purchasing the KFOG CD…
Steph took her responsibility seriously… She went to the Redwood City Peet’s and hung out with Annalisa…. KFOG midday DJ…. She called us as we were boarding a cruise ship… and put Annalisa on the phone… So, on vacation, DJ on your favorite radio station calls you… Too cool…
Shift to December… I won tickets to the KFOG Christmas concert… The Pretenders and Amos Lee… Great concert… made better because my “free” tickets were in the last row of the balcony… and Amos Lee’s manager had (much better) tickets to give away… and we got there early to see Amos Lee, and as a result were given much better tickets on the floor…
Annalisa was there… we ran into her… she recognized Steph…
So, today they released the new CD… Annalisa was at the Saratoga store… So I drove to Saratoga… Annalisa remembered Steph (again) told her co-worker “she is a big fan of Mat Nathanson (true, and Mat Nathanson has a track on this years CD) She also remembered that we talked last year on release date… I love this radio station (really for the music, but damn, they know who their fans are too) Disclaimer: Annalisa is recently married… I am happily married… this is about music… (but Annalisa is cute…) Annalisa signed Steph's CD... Mine too...
Done with buying the CD I made another stop in the South Bay (aka San Jose) then was stuck in a major traffic jam… a truck had overturned and burned on the freeway… upside, I got to listen to the whole thing… downside… traffic…
I visited my local used book pusher… (B street Books in San Mateo) He got me for 9 books… a really good hit… its reading time ….
Checked in with T at the studio (Aanrakru Glass http://www.bayareastainedglass.com/ )
She was working on a Peacock window for me… we went to dinner at the local sushi joint… Sushi Sam’s… (http://www.sushisams.com/) I had the chef’s choice sashimi… (at the recommendation of a fellow glass artist....) It was spectacular… yellow fin, amber fin, octopus, maguro and toro tuna, Really really good…
Tomorrow is our anniversary… Our 29th anniversary…
We will do something… not sure what yet…
Bye
It started with a trip to a city far away to buy a CD… KFOG (local radio station, KFOG.com )releases a “Live from the Archives” CD every year… at least for the last 16 years… there was a Warriors CD before but that doesn’t count… (It does if you have it, and I do). The CD is based on otherwise unreleased live tracks collected by the radio station… (that would be KFOG 104.5 San Francisco… a really good radio station…)
I have them all, (and the warrior's CD) bought when released… Today they released number 16… They sell them though Peet’s Coffee.. (a really good local coffee place)…
Normally I would go to my local Peets and pick up the CD… but that was before last year… Last year T and I were not home for the release… We were on our way to a cruse to celebrate our anniversary… We left our daughter at home to feed the animals (we have too many animals) and take care of things…. including purchasing the KFOG CD…
Steph took her responsibility seriously… She went to the Redwood City Peet’s and hung out with Annalisa…. KFOG midday DJ…. She called us as we were boarding a cruise ship… and put Annalisa on the phone… So, on vacation, DJ on your favorite radio station calls you… Too cool…
Shift to December… I won tickets to the KFOG Christmas concert… The Pretenders and Amos Lee… Great concert… made better because my “free” tickets were in the last row of the balcony… and Amos Lee’s manager had (much better) tickets to give away… and we got there early to see Amos Lee, and as a result were given much better tickets on the floor…
Annalisa was there… we ran into her… she recognized Steph…
So, today they released the new CD… Annalisa was at the Saratoga store… So I drove to Saratoga… Annalisa remembered Steph (again) told her co-worker “she is a big fan of Mat Nathanson (true, and Mat Nathanson has a track on this years CD) She also remembered that we talked last year on release date… I love this radio station (really for the music, but damn, they know who their fans are too) Disclaimer: Annalisa is recently married… I am happily married… this is about music… (but Annalisa is cute…) Annalisa signed Steph's CD... Mine too...
Done with buying the CD I made another stop in the South Bay (aka San Jose) then was stuck in a major traffic jam… a truck had overturned and burned on the freeway… upside, I got to listen to the whole thing… downside… traffic…
I visited my local used book pusher… (B street Books in San Mateo) He got me for 9 books… a really good hit… its reading time ….
Checked in with T at the studio (Aanrakru Glass http://www.bayareastainedglass.com/ )
She was working on a Peacock window for me… we went to dinner at the local sushi joint… Sushi Sam’s… (http://www.sushisams.com/) I had the chef’s choice sashimi… (at the recommendation of a fellow glass artist....) It was spectacular… yellow fin, amber fin, octopus, maguro and toro tuna, Really really good…
Tomorrow is our anniversary… Our 29th anniversary…
We will do something… not sure what yet…
Bye
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