(.)_(.)
Thursday, May 26, 2005
soccer and snausage
Reen and I invested some serious time for the home team last Saturday, spending an 18 hour day to take a bus trip to see the Revolution play the Metro down in New Jersey. We were both pretty leery of the whole thing, but we had decided that we should try it and get to know some of the folks who we see at tailgates during home games. We did have a good time singing and cheering for the whole game. It’s certainly a different experience than just sitting and watching and something I had been wanting to try. It was a good game, 2-2 final.
Sunday was set aside for sausage making with Jay stopping by for his first lesson. It was great working with him and having someone helping. We made andouille which came out alright. I screwed up the fire so it was too hot and I almost overcooked everything. I avoided that but the quick cooking meant that the sausage didn’t quite take as much smoke as I would have liked.
Pete and Susanne stopped by on Sunday also which was nice. You may recall that Pete is my friend who is a professional writer and designs virtual testing environments for integrated circuit chips on the side. We talked sausage while the ladies retired to the sitting room. Sadly we didn’t get a chance to see Pete in my waders, which was originally part of the plan.
We’re looking forward to being back in the DC area over the holiday weekend. Yeah, there’ll be a wedding and seeing family and friends. But the food is the real issue here. Thanks in equal measure to the fine restaurants available throughout the greater DC area and our time living with Jayne and John, our 3 years in Alexandria taught us how to eat. The list of food firsts during those years is seemingly endless: thai, sushi, port, blue crabs, po’ boys, gumbo, etc. etc. Jayne also introduced me to the notion of home sausage making. Most importantly however was having Jayne demonstrate every night that it is possible to make food right in your own home which is better than you would eat in most restaurants. It will be fun to visit some of our old haunts, who knows which we’ll choose. One thing is certain however: Tuesday will see us visiting Ben’s Chili Bowl. You can put my order in now: one chili half-smoke, chili-cheese fries and a large root-beer.
And speaking of our visit down south (not The South, but certainly south of where we live), I’ve been busy making more meaty gifts to bring with us. The andouille was finished on Sunday and last night I made 4 pounds of fresh bratwurst. This was my first try at brats since I’ve actually figured out what I’m doing with the sausage making. The first effort was back in Delaware and was an unmitigated disaster, second only to my effort in making hotdogs at just about the same time. I was so discouraged from having produced two wholly inedible products that I took a great long break in my hobby. I’m much happier with the ones I made last night. I also ground, mixed and stuffed about 25 linear feet of venison snack sticks which were a hit the last time I made them back in the fall. I know 25 feet sounds like a lot, but it’s only 5 pounds worth. They are waiting in the fridge as I type and I’ll smoke them tonight.
Can you believe that I haven't been back out fishing since I caught that tiny bass a few weeks back?
Revs host Colorado this Saturday night, no Dempsey or Ralston but the home team should still put the smack down on the second worst team in the league. Where are Clint and Steve? Well they are with the US National Team who will be playing England on Saturday. That's right, USA vs. England. Ambition vs. Tradition baby, right there on ESPN at 3pm. We all know that this game doesn't really count for anything and is just a warm up for the US's World Cup Qualifiers in June, but it would still be pretty sweet to beat England. I'll call it 3-0 US, hat-trick to Dempsey all off Ralston crosses. 0 comments
Reen and I invested some serious time for the home team last Saturday, spending an 18 hour day to take a bus trip to see the Revolution play the Metro down in New Jersey. We were both pretty leery of the whole thing, but we had decided that we should try it and get to know some of the folks who we see at tailgates during home games. We did have a good time singing and cheering for the whole game. It’s certainly a different experience than just sitting and watching and something I had been wanting to try. It was a good game, 2-2 final.
Sunday was set aside for sausage making with Jay stopping by for his first lesson. It was great working with him and having someone helping. We made andouille which came out alright. I screwed up the fire so it was too hot and I almost overcooked everything. I avoided that but the quick cooking meant that the sausage didn’t quite take as much smoke as I would have liked.
Pete and Susanne stopped by on Sunday also which was nice. You may recall that Pete is my friend who is a professional writer and designs virtual testing environments for integrated circuit chips on the side. We talked sausage while the ladies retired to the sitting room. Sadly we didn’t get a chance to see Pete in my waders, which was originally part of the plan.
We’re looking forward to being back in the DC area over the holiday weekend. Yeah, there’ll be a wedding and seeing family and friends. But the food is the real issue here. Thanks in equal measure to the fine restaurants available throughout the greater DC area and our time living with Jayne and John, our 3 years in Alexandria taught us how to eat. The list of food firsts during those years is seemingly endless: thai, sushi, port, blue crabs, po’ boys, gumbo, etc. etc. Jayne also introduced me to the notion of home sausage making. Most importantly however was having Jayne demonstrate every night that it is possible to make food right in your own home which is better than you would eat in most restaurants. It will be fun to visit some of our old haunts, who knows which we’ll choose. One thing is certain however: Tuesday will see us visiting Ben’s Chili Bowl. You can put my order in now: one chili half-smoke, chili-cheese fries and a large root-beer.
And speaking of our visit down south (not The South, but certainly south of where we live), I’ve been busy making more meaty gifts to bring with us. The andouille was finished on Sunday and last night I made 4 pounds of fresh bratwurst. This was my first try at brats since I’ve actually figured out what I’m doing with the sausage making. The first effort was back in Delaware and was an unmitigated disaster, second only to my effort in making hotdogs at just about the same time. I was so discouraged from having produced two wholly inedible products that I took a great long break in my hobby. I’m much happier with the ones I made last night. I also ground, mixed and stuffed about 25 linear feet of venison snack sticks which were a hit the last time I made them back in the fall. I know 25 feet sounds like a lot, but it’s only 5 pounds worth. They are waiting in the fridge as I type and I’ll smoke them tonight.
Can you believe that I haven't been back out fishing since I caught that tiny bass a few weeks back?
Revs host Colorado this Saturday night, no Dempsey or Ralston but the home team should still put the smack down on the second worst team in the league. Where are Clint and Steve? Well they are with the US National Team who will be playing England on Saturday. That's right, USA vs. England. Ambition vs. Tradition baby, right there on ESPN at 3pm. We all know that this game doesn't really count for anything and is just a warm up for the US's World Cup Qualifiers in June, but it would still be pretty sweet to beat England. I'll call it 3-0 US, hat-trick to Dempsey all off Ralston crosses. 0 comments
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
i'm an expert
Or at least I'm being asked to play one at work. I found out Friday that I have one week to prepare a piece of written expert testimony in a wetlands loss case. One of my bosses here actually is an expert but he’s busy with his part so I’ve been asked to help out. I even got a chance to talk to a real live lawyer on the phone and discuss “intellectual honesty” and “not sending e-mails” and “shredding my written notes”. It’s all very Spy vs. Spy. It basically amounts to the lawyer having an angle that he wants to argue and me reading a bunch of journal papers and government reports and culling out the technical pieces that would support his case. I’m told that I won’t be deposed or asked to testify (that’s why the boss man gets the big bucks) so that’s nice.
I played volleyball last night and my thumb was functional, which is good. And Mac didn’t ask me about online shopping. Also good.
I know that you’re dying to hear about the Revs game last weekend, which is great. Pretty soon you all will be surprising me the way Dad did on Sunday when he casually remarked that “I thought Ralston returning to the lineup was supposed to help?” See the trick is that if I keep spouting off about soccer then each of you will unwittingly learn more about the subject than you would really care to. And that’s really just a fact of life: we often end up knowing (and sometimes caring) about things that people around us care about. It's a sort of topical osmosis, the natural result of repeated exposure. This is exactly why I know what Mr. Big’s actual name is from Sex and the City and also why Chris knew about and wanted to see an episode of Oprah. Our worlds necessarily overlap with the worlds of those around us. So yes Dad, Ralston’s return was supposed to help and if you’d seen how well Josh Gros has been playing for DC this season, you might agree that Ralston’s shutting him down on Saturday DID help. The game itself was a battle of attrition in midfield and the Revs won 1-0 thanks to a great individual effort by Pat Noonan. And even though some of the DC fans are in denial, I definitely see trouble brewing between Moreno and Adu. Watching them try to run the DC offense together is like watching Aretha Franklin and Beyonce trying to share a single spotlight. It just is not working out. 1 comments
Or at least I'm being asked to play one at work. I found out Friday that I have one week to prepare a piece of written expert testimony in a wetlands loss case. One of my bosses here actually is an expert but he’s busy with his part so I’ve been asked to help out. I even got a chance to talk to a real live lawyer on the phone and discuss “intellectual honesty” and “not sending e-mails” and “shredding my written notes”. It’s all very Spy vs. Spy. It basically amounts to the lawyer having an angle that he wants to argue and me reading a bunch of journal papers and government reports and culling out the technical pieces that would support his case. I’m told that I won’t be deposed or asked to testify (that’s why the boss man gets the big bucks) so that’s nice.
I played volleyball last night and my thumb was functional, which is good. And Mac didn’t ask me about online shopping. Also good.
I know that you’re dying to hear about the Revs game last weekend, which is great. Pretty soon you all will be surprising me the way Dad did on Sunday when he casually remarked that “I thought Ralston returning to the lineup was supposed to help?” See the trick is that if I keep spouting off about soccer then each of you will unwittingly learn more about the subject than you would really care to. And that’s really just a fact of life: we often end up knowing (and sometimes caring) about things that people around us care about. It's a sort of topical osmosis, the natural result of repeated exposure. This is exactly why I know what Mr. Big’s actual name is from Sex and the City and also why Chris knew about and wanted to see an episode of Oprah. Our worlds necessarily overlap with the worlds of those around us. So yes Dad, Ralston’s return was supposed to help and if you’d seen how well Josh Gros has been playing for DC this season, you might agree that Ralston’s shutting him down on Saturday DID help. The game itself was a battle of attrition in midfield and the Revs won 1-0 thanks to a great individual effort by Pat Noonan. And even though some of the DC fans are in denial, I definitely see trouble brewing between Moreno and Adu. Watching them try to run the DC offense together is like watching Aretha Franklin and Beyonce trying to share a single spotlight. It just is not working out. 1 comments
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
anniversary
Well sort of at least. Reen and I have remarked during the past few weeks that we are now a year removed from our trip through Russia and onward. We've had fun reading through old posts from our travelogue. It's fun to think of our friends and family following along and checking to see if there's a new entry up. In fact, writing the travelogue may have been the start of our interest in doing the webpage/blog thing. While I have fond memories of specific places and adventures, when I think of the trip as a whole I feel an intense longing and almost sadness. I suppose this stems from my understanding of how unique that opportunity was and that Reen and I won't have the chance to do something like that for quite a while. 0 comments
Well sort of at least. Reen and I have remarked during the past few weeks that we are now a year removed from our trip through Russia and onward. We've had fun reading through old posts from our travelogue. It's fun to think of our friends and family following along and checking to see if there's a new entry up. In fact, writing the travelogue may have been the start of our interest in doing the webpage/blog thing. While I have fond memories of specific places and adventures, when I think of the trip as a whole I feel an intense longing and almost sadness. I suppose this stems from my understanding of how unique that opportunity was and that Reen and I won't have the chance to do something like that for quite a while. 0 comments
Friday, May 13, 2005
my first fishy
I skipped v-ball on Tuesday on account of my ailing digit, which gave Reen and I a chance to head over to Megansett Harbor for some fishing and to watch a beautiful sunset. I’m happy to report that I caught my first fishy of the season, a very small striped bass. It was maybe 14” long and very bright and shiny. I also met a local guy named George who was happy to talk about fishin’. Imagine that. I have now caught exactly half as many fish this year as I did last season.
Before fishing however I was to meet a friend that I’ve made through volleyball. Mac is a single guy, a bit younger than me, drives a jeep, works at MBL, and is really good at volleyball. We were talking last week and he mentioned that he’s trying to start his own business. It’s strictly on the side and he’s looking for folks to help him out with it. Would I be interested to hear what he’s up to? So I meet with him at the Starbucks in town on Tuesday afternoon. He pulls a little bound booklet out of his backpack and starts talking about “wouldn’t I like to have more free time” and “could you use some extra income each month” and *shudder* “the power of franchising.” I just can’t describe how disappointed I was. I’m not sure what I was expecting and I certainly didn’t have my hopes up about finding the perfect new job or anything like that. But good gracious, anything other than this crap. As it turns out, Mac is an I(ndependent) B(ussiness) O(wner) for Quixtar which is an online shopping portal run by the lovely folks at Amway. It’s a pyramid setup which funnels people to the web site to buy stuff. There was also some scary talk about “mentors” and “self confidence enhancement” and “buying $160 worth of books to become the newest IBO.” It was just disgusting and I felt sad for Mac and for myself. But later I caught a lovely bass (see above), so I was in a better mood.
We had fun last weekend flying to PA for a surprise visit with the Hollands. It was really only a surprise for Mrs. Holland, but she was happy enough for everybody. We got to see Fiona, help Mike lay down a new patio, surprise Mom, eat at the Alpenhof (I had knackwurst…mmmmm), see Grandmom, eat a lovely Mother’s Day brunch put on by Chris and Taylor and hear Chris express disappointment that he had missed a certain episode of Oprah.
So the Revs won again last week 2-0 over Chicago in the monsoon that blew through last Saturday. They are off to a great start with 4 wins and a tie heading into this weekend’s match where they play DC United at Gillette. Reen and I are going along with Trey and brother Jay. The last two games between these teams have been thrillers. 3-3 in the playoffs last year and 4-3 at DC last month. Freddy Adu should be starting for DC and the game is on ESPN2. I even got Reen a Revs shirt for the occasion. I’ve been looking forward to this game for 2 weeks, it should be great. 0 comments
I skipped v-ball on Tuesday on account of my ailing digit, which gave Reen and I a chance to head over to Megansett Harbor for some fishing and to watch a beautiful sunset. I’m happy to report that I caught my first fishy of the season, a very small striped bass. It was maybe 14” long and very bright and shiny. I also met a local guy named George who was happy to talk about fishin’. Imagine that. I have now caught exactly half as many fish this year as I did last season.
Before fishing however I was to meet a friend that I’ve made through volleyball. Mac is a single guy, a bit younger than me, drives a jeep, works at MBL, and is really good at volleyball. We were talking last week and he mentioned that he’s trying to start his own business. It’s strictly on the side and he’s looking for folks to help him out with it. Would I be interested to hear what he’s up to? So I meet with him at the Starbucks in town on Tuesday afternoon. He pulls a little bound booklet out of his backpack and starts talking about “wouldn’t I like to have more free time” and “could you use some extra income each month” and *shudder* “the power of franchising.” I just can’t describe how disappointed I was. I’m not sure what I was expecting and I certainly didn’t have my hopes up about finding the perfect new job or anything like that. But good gracious, anything other than this crap. As it turns out, Mac is an I(ndependent) B(ussiness) O(wner) for Quixtar which is an online shopping portal run by the lovely folks at Amway. It’s a pyramid setup which funnels people to the web site to buy stuff. There was also some scary talk about “mentors” and “self confidence enhancement” and “buying $160 worth of books to become the newest IBO.” It was just disgusting and I felt sad for Mac and for myself. But later I caught a lovely bass (see above), so I was in a better mood.
We had fun last weekend flying to PA for a surprise visit with the Hollands. It was really only a surprise for Mrs. Holland, but she was happy enough for everybody. We got to see Fiona, help Mike lay down a new patio, surprise Mom, eat at the Alpenhof (I had knackwurst…mmmmm), see Grandmom, eat a lovely Mother’s Day brunch put on by Chris and Taylor and hear Chris express disappointment that he had missed a certain episode of Oprah.
So the Revs won again last week 2-0 over Chicago in the monsoon that blew through last Saturday. They are off to a great start with 4 wins and a tie heading into this weekend’s match where they play DC United at Gillette. Reen and I are going along with Trey and brother Jay. The last two games between these teams have been thrillers. 3-3 in the playoffs last year and 4-3 at DC last month. Freddy Adu should be starting for DC and the game is on ESPN2. I even got Reen a Revs shirt for the occasion. I’ve been looking forward to this game for 2 weeks, it should be great. 0 comments
Thursday, May 05, 2005
chernie
I came across this quite haunting travelogue, put together by a Russian biker chick who took her motorcycle, camera and geiger counter for a ride through the wastelands in and around Chernobyl. Creeepy.
I sprained my right thumb playing v-ball Tuesday night. It hurts and is slightly discolored but I can still work the TV remote so it’s not that bad. And Reen helped me open jars last night so I could cook dinner.
Our friend Kevin from UD happens to be visiting USGS in Woods Hole so Reen and I are going to see him Thursday night for dinner. You can view a fascinating informative video about him here. We once had lunch with Kevin at that Italian restaurant on 896 down towards the mall. Our waitress mistook Kevin for one of Reen’s favorite actors which gave us all a good laugh.
My dear lovely wife gently woke me this morning at 5:45 to ask for my assistance with re-hanging the shower curtain rod which had failed again. This was just the latest episode in what had become a too-long stretch of bad behavior for said rod. Seemingly secured snugly in place at one moment only to be heard crashing to the floor the next, our shower curtain rod has been a non-functioning pain in the ass for the better part of two weeks. Being the bright boy that I am, I tried to fix it into place even more firmly this morning and promptly broke it. So we were both left to bathe w/o a shower curtain. I must say that it is quite odd to take a shower with no curtain or door present. Doubly so when there is a full length mirror directly opposite the bath. 2 comments
I came across this quite haunting travelogue, put together by a Russian biker chick who took her motorcycle, camera and geiger counter for a ride through the wastelands in and around Chernobyl. Creeepy.
I sprained my right thumb playing v-ball Tuesday night. It hurts and is slightly discolored but I can still work the TV remote so it’s not that bad. And Reen helped me open jars last night so I could cook dinner.
Our friend Kevin from UD happens to be visiting USGS in Woods Hole so Reen and I are going to see him Thursday night for dinner. You can view a fascinating informative video about him here. We once had lunch with Kevin at that Italian restaurant on 896 down towards the mall. Our waitress mistook Kevin for one of Reen’s favorite actors which gave us all a good laugh.
My dear lovely wife gently woke me this morning at 5:45 to ask for my assistance with re-hanging the shower curtain rod which had failed again. This was just the latest episode in what had become a too-long stretch of bad behavior for said rod. Seemingly secured snugly in place at one moment only to be heard crashing to the floor the next, our shower curtain rod has been a non-functioning pain in the ass for the better part of two weeks. Being the bright boy that I am, I tried to fix it into place even more firmly this morning and promptly broke it. So we were both left to bathe w/o a shower curtain. I must say that it is quite odd to take a shower with no curtain or door present. Doubly so when there is a full length mirror directly opposite the bath. 2 comments
Monday, May 02, 2005
thursday was a good day
I got out fishing for the first time this season on Thursday evening after work but before soccer. No fish but it was a beautiful evening and I got to try out the new waders. I then played the best 2 hours of soccer that I've produced in quite some time.
On Friday night Reen and Lindsay and I tried a new Brazilian restaurant here in town. It’s the kind where they walk around with big pieces of meat on a sword and you have little pieces carved off at your table. It was pretty tasty and very fun. I ate so much that I was slightly ill when we got home and I didn’t sleep well. And although Linds didn't eat quite as much as Reen and I, she did manage to eat bacon at least once a day for the past 7 days. There are some things that you just can't coach...pure natural talent there.
Trey didn’t come along because he was in Annapolis for the NOOD regatta. His boat, Team Wetass, finished 6th in the 38 boat fleet. Not too shabby. One of these days someone will come along and ask Trey to go sailing for a living.
We had a rainy weekend out at Pogue but it was great to be there with the whole family. We got all of the outside work done on the house before it really started raining seriously. Although it felt a little chilly, all of the birds nesting suggest that Spring is indeed here. I was happy to see two Oystercatcher nests with 3 eggs each. And I heard Duncan say ‘helicopter’, which is pretty cool.
Ever wonder why Reen and I are such good friends? Well on Friday at the restaurant, despite being full, Reen was still holding out to try the linguica which she had passed on earlier in the night. And then on Saturday out at Pogue she was crawling around in the dirt under the house helping Jay troubleshoot the plumbing as we connected the water system for the first time since winter. Need I say more?
So the Revs beat Chicago 3-0 last Wednesday and then won 1-0 vs. Chivas in the pouring rain on Saturday. They have 4 wins and a tie over the first 5 games and everyone agrees that they are the best team in MLS right now. I am really looking forward to seeing them at home vs. DC in two weeks. 0 comments
I got out fishing for the first time this season on Thursday evening after work but before soccer. No fish but it was a beautiful evening and I got to try out the new waders. I then played the best 2 hours of soccer that I've produced in quite some time.
On Friday night Reen and Lindsay and I tried a new Brazilian restaurant here in town. It’s the kind where they walk around with big pieces of meat on a sword and you have little pieces carved off at your table. It was pretty tasty and very fun. I ate so much that I was slightly ill when we got home and I didn’t sleep well. And although Linds didn't eat quite as much as Reen and I, she did manage to eat bacon at least once a day for the past 7 days. There are some things that you just can't coach...pure natural talent there.
Trey didn’t come along because he was in Annapolis for the NOOD regatta. His boat, Team Wetass, finished 6th in the 38 boat fleet. Not too shabby. One of these days someone will come along and ask Trey to go sailing for a living.
We had a rainy weekend out at Pogue but it was great to be there with the whole family. We got all of the outside work done on the house before it really started raining seriously. Although it felt a little chilly, all of the birds nesting suggest that Spring is indeed here. I was happy to see two Oystercatcher nests with 3 eggs each. And I heard Duncan say ‘helicopter’, which is pretty cool.
Ever wonder why Reen and I are such good friends? Well on Friday at the restaurant, despite being full, Reen was still holding out to try the linguica which she had passed on earlier in the night. And then on Saturday out at Pogue she was crawling around in the dirt under the house helping Jay troubleshoot the plumbing as we connected the water system for the first time since winter. Need I say more?
So the Revs beat Chicago 3-0 last Wednesday and then won 1-0 vs. Chivas in the pouring rain on Saturday. They have 4 wins and a tie over the first 5 games and everyone agrees that they are the best team in MLS right now. I am really looking forward to seeing them at home vs. DC in two weeks. 0 comments
