AC: the pictures

Sunny sunday morn

The sun is out for the first time since we arrived in AC and the water looks so pretty blue. My photo, taken with Photobooth out on the balcony doesn't do it justice. But, it felt good catching some fresh, cool, morning air. My bedhead though, the picture does do that justice...

We took tons of photos yesterday, most of it of glass. I'll get those posted sometimes this week. It has been relaxing just going from one thing to the next, with not much forethought or planning. Also, it's been quite relaxing not having to take into account the needs and desires of two other beings :-)

While at the General Store at the Arts Center yesterday, I struck up a conversation with the young woman ringing us up (locally made glass for Cap and me, and marbles and candy necklaces for the kids). This led to our deciding to drive down to Cape May, which was kind of like the Provincetown of NJ. We took in the ocean at the tip of the peninsula (green-grey, frothy, thunderous) and the Cape May lighthouse.

From there we drove into town and Cap gently nudged me in the direction of the local yarn shop. We had some local seafood and frozen custard (very popular around here, but not in northern Jersey) before heading back to AC, driving in the dark at 6:30!

I am officially contending with a head cold and went to bed early-ish. Looking forward to Lucy and some super subs before getting back home and grabbing those kids close. They, by the way, have been absolutely fine hanging out with Sandy at home.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

The food in AC vol. 1

In the car as we were heading out of dodge, Cap handed me a bag from The Chocolate Path. He is good. The Chocopologie burnt caramel and sea salt bar I've raved about here before. The Taza bar was new for me and very interesting. They stone grind their chocolate, which I want to know more about. The texture is definitely affected by this. This particular bar had a strong hint of vanilla in it, which I liked, and found notable. And, they are located in Somerville, MA, next door to our old stomping grounds.

Last night we had dinner at Buddakan. They are an Asain fusion restaurant born in Philly. The AC location is their second and they now have a place in Manhattan, as well. Getting there was interesting. It was located in an upscale mall that was nestled amongst two big casinos, one of them was Caesar's.

We parked in a nearby parking garage after driving up onto the boardwalk to get our bearings (you're not supposed to actually drive up onto the boardwalk :-) All these buildings face the ocean, so when you're on the streets trying to access them, you mostly see the asses of the buildings and for first time visitors like us, well, it's hard to know exactly where you are. The backs of the buildings are either non-descript, if only because they all look the same, or have these bizarre fake "store fronts" built or painted on. On the other side of these walls are the otherwolrd of casinos, which you enter from the boardwalk or from somewhere within the maze of parking garages or hotel walkways.

Onto the food.

Cap had the chicken ginger dumplings and I had the tuna spring rolls for appetizers. The dumplings had good texture inside and out, but for me, the flavor was pretty much burned away by the overwehlming salt. For me to be overwhelemd by salt means there was a lot of salt.

The tuna spring rolls intrigued me. I asked if the tuna was cooked and the waitress had said "no". It turned out to be deep fried spring roll skin rolled like a cigarette (open on either end), with tuna tartare with just a touch of ponzu, stuffed inside. The portions of the high quality and tasty tuna were generous. I liked this even though it was weird to have something cold in something deep fried.

I wanted to take pictures, but the lighting in the restaurant was pleasantly dim and the flash on my camera would have made for some unattractive photos I think.

We then had crab fried rice (my pick), chicken with cashews (his choice) and wild mushroom chow fun (something we both wanted to try). The crab in the fried rice was good, but the dish itself, reminded me of a lesser version of the fried rice I used to get from our neighborhood Chinese place in Sacramento (it was a white fried rice which I much prefer to the ubiquitous "brown"/east coast fried rice).

The chicken with cashews was tasty. It had a good variety of veggies (broccoli, pea pods and mushrooms) in it that complemented the brown sauce well. My favorite parts of the dish were the cashews and the broccoli. But, honestly, compared to the food I've had at P.F. Chang's, it fell just short.

The chow fun...for being dubbed "wild mushroom" chow fun, there was a disappointing amount of mushrooms in the dish. I honestly think there were more mushrooms in the chicken with cashews. I am a sucker for chow fun noodles and these were prepared well. But, the dish was really just "eh".

I saved room for dessert and had trouble ordering one because many of them sounded really interesting and different. I ended up going with the "Zenful Donuts". The best part was the melded flavors of the banana and chocolate sauces which arrived in different bowls. The donuts were more like fried pockets of wonton skin. Not doughy in any way. These had been injected with a dollop of liquidy sweet cream cheese. And rolled in cinnamon sugar. Not as good as I thought they would be. Again, there was an odd mix of cold and warm. The sweet cheese inside was cool to the tongue. Whle the pockets were warm.

For drinks, we had tap water with ice (the water in AC tastes good!), Cap had a Yingling beer and I had a decaf latte which was light on the coffee, but the cup was nice and weighty. I like a heavy little cup.

Overall it was totally fun being in a restaurant that we'd never been to before, and ordering food that was off our beaten path. (Despite there being many, many restaurants where we live we tend to eat the same things from the same places when we eat out.) For that reason, the bill at the end of the meal didn't sting. But, truthfully, I don't think the food itself was worth it.

Now I'm really going to do some qi going :-)

Photo booth

How fun is this program? Very. I took this last night to send to the kids.

And here I am this morning, after about 3 hours of sleep (very active and vivid dreams involving family and friends and knitting and taking pictures...) The message alert on my phone woke us. I called the kids back and couldn't fall back asleep afterwards.

Now to practice qi gong while looking out at the sea.

3am

Yup. Haven't been able to fall asleep.

The feng shui of the bedroom feels all wrong. I can't remember the last time I was in a bedroom with no window. I decided that if I was still awake at 3 that I would get out of bed.

The waves are strong tonight and there is a wind. It is supposed to rain today.

This place is interesting. There is an air of desperation, of insularity... As Cap put it, there is so much energy, but it is all indoors, housed in these enormous dens of bright lights and absolute fakeness.

On the streets there is dinginess, that tang of a folkhood eking by. There is storefront after storefront proclaiming "gold for cash". But, there are also women walking home together on the boardwalk, a man contentedly gliding along on his bicycle, and a young man walking his tiny, cute little dog in the dark.

I was too hot in the bedroom. I think I may be having some extended hot flashes. I feel hot out here, too, though not as much as in bed. I'm going to watch an episode of Bones and then crawl back next to Cap.

Tomorrow, I mean today, will be a mellow day. Breakfast somewhere (I love me some breakfast out), then a drive out to the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center (I can't link there at the moment, their site is experiencing some technical difficulties), then maybe some local seafood, or maybe we'll just have our leftovers from tonight's dinner.

Sunday, we'll likely go visit a NJ landmark, Lucy, and then get subs to go from here. I am looking forward to both :-)

Weekend

I'm not sure I'm going to have time to post tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning I'll be in the kitchen making meatloaf and banana bread for the kids this weekend.

I'll also be changing bed linens and trying to decide where to put Sandy. The kids are very accustomed to moving into the big bed during the night/early morn and we're puzzling over what will happen while we're away. We won't know till we know :-)

I'll be packing and we may even go to the Craft and Bake Sale, the brainchild of a homeschooling friend of ours who was maybe 7 at the time that she got this twice-a-year local event going.

I'll be giving the kids their consolation presents which they have been eagerly awaiting. (They'll be getting a little something on Saturday and Sunday morning, too.)

And giving hugs and squeezes. And whispering reassurances. And hopefully not peeling fingers and limbs off of me trying to get out the door. (No, I think it's going to be okay...)

Then we'll be off.

P.S. I received a box of vintage yarn in the mail today from a friend of my mother. Wowee. That was fun. And it's going to be a blast photographing it all to post here. A project for next week!

In from the crisp

(Scarf by Wendy---a luscious warmth that is light as air---yarn: Rowan SilkWool.)

What lovely days we've been having. I feel criminal in how much we've remained indoors.

Busy-ness

• Talks with Cap about his career, his future, his work life/identity. He's at a juncture of sorts. An opportunity to push forward. But leaving a morass comes with some requisite regret. Good, but heavy stuff.

• Getting ready to go away. Making maps, transcribing phone numbers and addresses of places to eat and check out. Drawing up a shopping list for food to stock here for Sandy and the kids. Lists for Sandy. Haven't begun to think about packing yet.

• The pile of receipts that need to be input. It's a big pile.

• Playing with the kids or knitting while they play at my feet or cooking alone.

• Thinking about the friends I want to call or e-mail.

I am officially procrastinating. Coming up for air, I guess. Glub, glub, back in I go.

Lunch these days

Fall harvest foods like red kuri squash...

grilled cheese is best when the air has a chill in it (that is Sag's sandwich, no, we haven't discovered the world's most amazing casein-free cheese that melts like that)...

apple cider...a seasonal beverage, like Silk Nog, that lifts me and transforms a moment.

Lots of singing and word play inspired by TMBG's ABC dvd we borrowed from the library last week. The Alphabet of Nations is a favorite.

Lots of verbal and physical gags involving penises, poops, farts and pain.

Some talk of the impending parental weekend away. Breaking it down, talking it through, making reassurances, imagining unfamiliar terrain.

Knitting update

Recently off the needles: Cap's 2008 scarf, a scarf for myself (Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun), and a skull cap for Gem (Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat).

I am too lazy to check and see if I've posted Gem in his cap already. I shortened the hat quite a bit because I was going to run out of yarn and he was chomping at the bit to have it and decided he was fine with it "little".

I'll post a pic of Julie's scarf as soon as I hear she's received it (personally, I love it---it's the first scarf I've made for someone that I wanted to keep for myself :-) Her birthday is this weekend. Happy birthday Jules!

I've started a queue on Ravelry which was fun and clarifying. I now have a working list of projects I want to make, with accompanying photos and suggested yarns.

Things like this, this, this, and this.

Humming with happiness here, hope you're humming, too.

Snark alert

...but it is entertaining. Check out a blog composed of photos snapped on public transportation in Chicago with accompanying (oft snarky) observations.

Team lego

This morning I told Sag to pick something I could work with him on, whatever he wanted. His first choice was carve his pumpkin, which, cringe, I could not do. The pumpkins were immovable at that point for a couple of reasons and were not in a location where carving could take place comfortably.

Unfazed, he then chose working on his costume. So we set about looking in the dress up chest, my closet and dresser, the craft shelves, and the linen closet, for materials which would come together as "ghost". As luck would have it, we came up with some very workable pieces. We're going to test it out tonight after dusk to see whether the effect passes his critical eye.

Then we moved on to legos. He wanted to collaborate on a Star Wars-style fighter jet and the only rule was that we always had to agree :-) I asked him to describe the characteristics of a fighter jet---a deficit in my knowledge base.

• wings
• cockpit
• pilot
• guns

I observed how symmetrical fighter jets are in their construction, how challenging it was for me to build something with legos that was not a building-type structure, and we truly worked together to figure out how to mesh our three (Gem asked to join and Sag graciously agreed) sections together to create a final and stable object.

Pumpkin outing slideshow

It was really a lovely day. Crisp, crisp air, purpose and meaning, those indelible northeastern autumn colors, and family love.

A-ha

If you loved "Take On Me" or if you like funny videos, check this out.

Are you having a laugh?

The weekend is winding down

We just got home from Anna's birthday party. Traditional German cake with raisins and dried lemon, a medieval theme, homemade games, trinkets that included stones from the Baltic Sea, taking the edge off the sugar high dodging balls in the backyard as the light faded. We rocked the autumn afternoon.

It was a busy day for us. We started the day picking pumpkins and apples. My mom came out from Manhattan. I'll post pics tomorrow. The pumpkins the kids chose are HUGE.

Then we drove to the Japanese supermarket and had lunch and shopped. My mom took the shuttle bus back into the city from there.

Other tidbits from the weekend:

• I had an appointment with Vinny that was amazing. I've been practicing qi gong more regularly and felt the difference in our session.

• Made a yummy pumpkin cake with maple frosting.

• Bought some yarn (just can't help it---most of it was on sale). Some Seduce for Barbra, Cascade 220 for Audrey, and sock yarn for Gem, Sag, and myself. Also some secret stuff for Mummu who knows there's something in the works for her, but doesn't know exactly what :-) Also, my first set of sock needles! I was feeling a bit sorry for myself not to be at Rhinebeck, but, man, I will be there next year with Wendy and it's going to kick ass.

• Finished my One Row Handspun scarf and wove in the ends of Julie's and Cap's scarves. Will post pics soon. I've been ambivalent about the scarf I knit for myself. But, I gave it a trial run today and liked the warmth it provided. It was cozy. I'm not wild about the colors for some reason, even though it goes with my basic wardrobe: predominantly dark pink and purple with dashes of red and orange.

• Did some research on Atlantic City and am feeling a charge about our impending weekend away. Cap and I will leave Friday afternoon and return Sunday afternoon. Sandy will come hold down the fort for us. This is our free time share trip. A holiday for the family fell through so I ended up booking us a weekend away. Somewhere not too far, with an ocean view, that we had never been to...and Alantic City is what resulted. Gamblers we are not, but we will enjoy spending time together with no agenda, no schedule, no needs having to be met but our own.

• The Red Sox are providing much entertainment as they defied all sorts of odds by winning on Thursday night and then again last night. We'll be watching them tonight, and trying to watch the Patriots in between.

Have a great start to your week!!

Starry and not warry afternoons

Star Wars continues to be a big theme in the kids' play and imagination.

What I love about this lego ship Gem made is that is modeled after a large lego Star Wars ship called Slave I that is no longer made and now costs about $150. The kids have been longing for this ship and I am pleased for them that this desire morphed into the practical creation of one of their own. (Gem really wants the Millennium Falcon which is still made by Lego and costs $500---I wonder if that'll be his next creation?)


Below is a creation of Sag's. I can't believe how "old" his hand looks in the second shot. Not the hand of a "my baby"!


I recently moved the chalkboard to a more visible and usable space. The kids didn't notice it really until a few minutes ago when I had Gem use it as a background for the photo of his Slave One.

That quickly led to their using it to create their own Star Wars themed backgrounds.




Finally, here's a scene from The Return of the Jedi, courtesy of Sag.


I do think that cutting down significantly on screen time has added some lovely and warm dimension to their play and time. After the requisite and unpleasant detox period, of course.

Julie's muffins

An unexpected series of events led to my walking through the automatic doors of our still-fairly-local super Whole Paycheck this morning. Cap doesn't get paid till tomorrow, but I was in need of certain necessary items of the feminine persuasion.

One good thing about this store is that it tends to inspire me to think outside whatever usual box I'm in (I tend to be a creature of habit). So as I walked in, I dug a little deeper into my mind, past the traction of the last few days.

Soup. Of course. It's fall, but my kitchen habits have remained in summer and I had completely forgotten about soup. Turnips, carrots, and a bunch of fresh spinach (its color a robust green) went into my cart (they were joined in the pot later by Mr. Garlic, Ms. Ginger, a combo of veggie and chicken broth and some leftover tomato sauce).

A Red Kuri squash based on the positive raves garnered it by my sister earlier this week. Some sweet potatoes imagined as oven-baked fries. And grapes. Has anyone else noticed how much cheaper organic grapes are this year?

Then I remembered Julie's muffins. Pineapple coconut. A can of crushed pineapple was added to the cart.

These muffins are great. Mine came out bordering on savory (I was eyeballing the honey and probably got in 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup and I eyeballed the vegan butter and probably put in nearly 1/2 cup...and I just noticed I was supposed to melt the butter...oops), but they are so buttery tasting and the pineapple and coconut make them moist and dense---I love them!

Try 'em, I think you'll love 'em too.

Quick note

...for the faithful readers of which I know there are some. I think about you during the days that I don't post.

A bit of a rough landing from PMS yesterday. I felt good and thought I was fine and then some turbulence at the end of the day.

A culprit this time was having expectations, not communicating them (you know those silent expectations that plant themselves with stealth and then bloom, sometimes monstrously in moments?...in a way they feel incommunicable...but that's not helpful for the innocent bystanders...and is ultimately, a cop out), and then getting pissed/seething internally/letting my venom seep out passive aggressively (because direct conflict, seeming like a meanie is not in my m.o.)

Between that, staying up late watching an episode of Bones on Hulu (I kept thinking of Audrey who loves the show :-) and flowing pretty heavily, I am worn out this morning.

Cap proposed I stay home Sunday from our pumpkin patch outing so I can get a few things done in the house in peace. I may take him up on that.

Pathetic

I interrupt this self-imposed break to announce that if you're ever in need of a gift idea for moi, you can get me a gift certificate to here.

I'm sorry. I am PMSing and sitting here drooling over these colorways, dreaming of knitting them into socks, and feeling completely sorry for myself that I can't type in my credit card number right now for some retail therapy.

Bit o'break

All of a sudden I am utterly disgusted with the state of my apartment.

More (blogging) soon, I hope (this process could take awhile).

I started The Days of Abandonment last night and like it so far.