As Food to Life

Penny Pie

2012-01-25T13:01:00.001-05:00

"Hi! We're home!" We've returned from an early New Year's Eve at the Draughthause, our favorite bar that serves free bratwurst and knockwursts on Saturday afternoons. We had a couple of delicious beers and brought a growler for our evening, since we don't go out on NYE.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

The sound of something being hit repeatedly is the first thing we hear. It's Penny Pie, hitting her plastic crate walls with a powerful, happy tail. We've been gone a few hours and she's so happy to see us you might have thought we'd been gone for months. Ian lets her out and there is a mad, gleeful dash around our legs, through the apartment, and around our legs again. Then it's back in the crate to rescue the Kong, which she clutches in her jaws on her next fifteen laps through the living room. Her body wriggles and thrashes, in her joy.

We've had her for three days and already she loves us so much it's hard to look in her eyes. She is so smart that she's mastered standing, kisses, early stages of "find it" and the agility ramp at the dog park.
She's friendly with the other dogs but happy to be on her own. When they are running as a pack, chasing the designated "it" she might join in, but she might just explore an uncharted corner. She runs with them when she wants, but when they catch the dog playing rabbit and engage in play fights she circles around, smiling but not engaging. She runs back to check in with us, asking "is everything cool?" with her easygoing smile, and curious eyes. When another dog is introduced she keeps close to us to stay safe and calm. She speeds around with the fast dogs, enjoying the speed in those muscular legs, powerful and fluid, excited to meet other dogs and play doggy games.

When she's happy, her ears perk up, she smiles at us, and looks ready for any adventure.
When we go on walks it's like we've leashed you, Julia. This dog has places to go! and I am not walking fast enough to get her there on time. I adore seeing her prance along, ears cocked, ready to chase another unfortunate squirrel. She hasn't caught one, but it's not for lack of trying (it's because I won't let her off the leash). She stands straight up in her effort to strain against the impending leash. Her legs scramble to get good footing so she can dash to the tree, and she'd probably climb it too.

Antique Mall Redux

2012-01-25T12:56:00.001-05:00

These were taken at the Austin Antique Mall where Mom and I spent a gray afternoon. I love this place. There was so much to see and comment on, and photograph. I wanted to be careful so people wouldn't think I was using the photos for some nefarious purpose. Rather, I just wanted to post them on the blog.

Bread, Babies & Boredom

2012-01-07T05:16:00.001-05:00

“You don’t have to immediately eliminate world poverty, bring world peace, or save the environment. You just have to do whatever you discover works with you modest resources to make a difference in the lives of poor people” – William Easterly The White Man’s Burden

Dear Meredyth,

I am really sorry again for how long it’s been since I have written to you here. I would really like to blame my circumstances; I live in Africa so I have no access to the Internet, or something along those lines. The truth of the matter is that most weekends I go to Lobatse, a town about two hours from my village, where I get to sit by a pool, order filtered coffee (a rarity in Botswana), and spend as much time as I want surfing the Interweb. The problem is that I tend to binge on the coffee, become overwhelmed by caffeine, Facebook, Gmail, and the New York Times that I need to take a pool break, and then forget to come back to this. So what I’m say is, sorry that I’m lazy.

These past weeks have been especially long, hard and often frustrating. Botswana schools have been on break since November, 26^th, so for the last month and more I’ve had no real job and nothing specific to do each day. This might seem nice, a long vacation right? Wrong. Having nothing at all to do makes me feel pointless, adding to this was spending the holidays in Africa. So many times I asked myself, what am I doing here? Nothing. Why am I putting myself through the pain of missing my family for nothing? No good answer for this. Luckily I have great Peace Corps friends and we got together to make the holidays the best week could, there were tears but also a lot of caroling, eating, and merry-making.

I reached a make or break point one morning a week before Christmas, I had been hiding in my house all morning, wallowing in a bit of self-pity, when a little (evil, hateful) voice in my head (that’s not that weird I swear) asked me a question: You ridicule Batswana all the time for being slow, lazy and unmotivated, aren’t you kinda doing the same thing? Is there really nothing you could do to help anyone or is it easier to stay inside watching movies and baking bread?

In fact that voice sounded a lot like Mom when she’s playing the Devil’s Advocate in an argument, and you get super pissed cause you know she’s just a little bit (or a whole lotta bit) right. In this case that voice was spot on, I had been ignoring this little fact for a week at least.

So I laced up my shoes, pulled on my sunhat and walked through the sand to the clinic to see what could be done. The sun scorched my head, children ran to their fences to point at me and screamed “lekgoa, lekgoa, lekgoa” (that’s all they do, point and scream over and over), my shoes filled with hot sand, basically it was the worst. When I got to the clinic the had nurse scolded me for not coming before now, I ignored this and asked where I could help. She asked if I knew how to read a scale and draw graphs, I said, “yeah, maybe, I dunno, I guess so”. She sent me to the Child Welfare Clinic where all the children in the village from 1 month – 5 years old come once a month to be weighed and measured, then the family receives their food rations: cooking oil, bread, dried beans, and fortified bran porridge. So this is what I have been doing for the past three weeks, weighing babies, ya know what? It fuckin rules. The babies are really cute when we put them in the scale (it’s similar to a baby swing), I feel like I’m really doing good when I track their growth & nutrition, then I get to do my favorite thing: giving that mother, who has no money at all, food for her family.

Love you,

Julia

Handmade Christmas

2011-12-23T14:53:00.004-05:00

I know, that title conjures up images of broken toys, limping along on limbs that are uneven lengths, busted seams on sewn items, or macaroni glued to paper plates given to parents trying to hide their smiles in hopes of looking grateful. Or it makes you think of a log cabin where everything is covered in the frilly green and red of some old time-y daydream gone horribly awry, a look only mastered by Martha Stewart's captive Christmas elves.

I didn't want to go crazy with the holiday inspired decor this year for a few reasons.
1) We're poor.
2) We aren't huge on Christmas to begin with (it being essentially a religious/commercial one and we're not religious or big on debt), and since no family is nearby it's going to be a quiet one anyway.
3) We don't have kids.

But, I did want to do something because we are neither the Grinch nor Scrooge, and I do like the ideas of peace on earth, goodwill toward man. If only it weren't for one month or day, and actually happened.

Last year, our first year living together, I decorated our table while Ian was at work.
And it looked a little something like this:

He really liked it, and loved coming home to the surprise. So I kept the tradition going this year. When he got home from work this is what greeted him:

I had sewn the stockings beforehand, and spent about a week of TV nights embroidering our names on them, so that was no surprise, but the decorated mantle was. I finished the stockings up that morning for the big reveal.

I also spent about a month making something (I'm still really new at sewing and make a LOT of mistakes) for my niece, Paige. She'll be one in February and every girl loves a doll. Here's a gratuitous photo:

There she is!

Ian predicted it would be torn apart limb from limb in a week, but I don't care. It's too adorable.

One doll, three dresses. Her hair is in a bob, like Jackie's (her mom) and she wears a flower, just like Paige. And I also made a little carrying case that could double as a purse, if her mom feels like using it for herself instead.

Rainy Day in Austin

2011-12-04T18:06:00.001-05:00

It has rained for three consecutive days here, a feat that makes Austinites throw up their hands and cheer, and Gov. Rick Perry throw up his hands in victory, because his petition to God came true. Admittedly, it's a little late for this cactus:

But we do indeed have rain. It was also the first really cold day here this winter, with temperatures in the high 40s. It's nothing a nice fleece and a fast pace can't handle, but unhappily, I did discover some holes in my everyday shoes because of the wet sidewalks.

I took a walk around my neighborhood, reveling in the light mists of rain, the cool air on my cheeks and the sight of leaves standing out agains the dark background of wetted tree trunks. A rain like this, light and soft in weather that is cool but not frigid does something to my heart. Everything is gilded and darks appear darker while bright colors stand out like flames. The sky is gray and soft like the down of a lamb, and I can't get enough of everything. Perhaps it's my ingrained love of Great Britain, and weather like this reminds me of my visit to Scotland around this time of year.

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell

2011-11-30T14:38:00.001-05:00

We had discussed spending Thanksgiving with our friends Steve and Lena, also recently moved to Austin. Then Lena suggested we join them at her roommate's potluck. Although I love doing Thanksgiving on my own, for the sake of meeting new people I was willing to do it. But then we didn't hear back from Lena about what to bring or where to go. So I waited, trying to be patient, remembering that not everyone thinks about Thanksgiving as far in advance as October, and that a couple days before Thursday is still enough time to adjust our plans. Finally, on Tuesday, not having heard anything, I told Ian "Screw it. We'll just have it here for the two of us." And I went to Sprouts (as close to TJ's as we can get right now) on Wednesday to get what we still needed.

Then, after a quick trip to Target; Bed, Bath & Beyond and World Market in search of a roasting rack that would fit the dutch oven I planned to use, I got a call from Steve. The potluck they'd been told was happening turned out to be the roommate's mom cooking for everyone, and the party had grown. Steve and Lena decided to change their plans to give the roommate's mom a break, and also because they had intended to spend it with us, regardless of where. I happily asked them over to our place, and told them to bring either wine or more dessert. Despite the surprise of the changed plans, it was lovely having guests for Thanksgiving, and made it so much more festive than if it were only Ian and me.

I picked up a pumpkin pie, since with only two of us (originally) it makes sense to not both pecan and pumpkin. When Steve joined us, I was happy that pumpkin was Ian's preferred choice, as I was already worrying about some inadvertent nut contamination. This pie was really, really good. I am totally glad we went with it. Sometimes it seems that store bought pumpkin has a soapy taste to it, but this was just warm pumpkin and spice.

In this shot you can see we decided against the sweet potato with marshmallows, but they were missed. I think next year, we'll have to include them, despite my snobbish heart's protest. I did make the green bean casserole, but I fried shallots to go on top. I think next time I'd wait to put them on at the last few minutes of baking because they got a little blackened. Frying shallots was so easy, and tasty, that I don't think I could go back to the fried onions in a can. But I did cause two oil fires because I heated the vegetable oil for too long. Luckily, I was doing this a day ahead and nothing was ruined, except my lungs and pride. Those both got back to normal after a short break from cooking.

Here you can see the table set for dinner, though everyone is still watching South Park. Steve and Lena are in the background.

The "turkey". I had decided that since it was just going to be Ian and me, we shouldn't get one of the 20 lb. turkeys I saw at the market. I was going to do chicken, but we have that often, so it didn't seem celebratory enough for my favorite holiday. Then I saw the duck in another freezer bin. I've had duck breast before, but never a whole one, so it was exotic. And at 5 lbs., small enough for two of us. Luckily, this also fed Steve and Lena and there was enough left over that I now have a quart of duck stock in my fridge, waiting to be added to dishes to give it an awesome flavor. The duck was awesome. All dark meat, which all of us prefer anyway, it cooked quickly and tasted amazing. Really rich and flavorful, unlike turkey sometimes. I think that it will become a go to bird for other holidays as well. If we have another small scale Thanksgiving again, I'd definitely use it. But if not, maybe it will become our Christmas bird. Although I did also see a goose at the market, and that is traditionally an English Christmas bird... so who knows, maybe after Christmas I'll be writing about my adventures with geese.

IKEA Day

2011-11-18T14:00:00.001-05:00

We went to IKEA after lunch with Steve and some new friends at Takoba. The place is pretty, and the patio very nice, but we left with a bad taste in our mouth. Not because of the food, which was alright but not fabulous. They were out of lemons so I couldn't try the Pisco Sour which was supposed to be really good. And their salsa tasted like raw green peppers. I hate them raw. But that's not their fault.
Really, the problem was in the service. Our waitress wasn't rude, exactly, she just wasn't very good or nice. As a former waitress I know what serving a group of nine is like. It can be a hassle when people join late, or are too busy talking to let you properly take care of the table. I am very cautious around those types of tables because I want to be present enough to do what's necessary, but allow them to talk and hang out. But here's the problems with the service we had:

When Lena asked for a berry mojito the girl brought out a regular one and only then did they tell her they didn't have berry mojitos anymore. So they made her a strawberry one. If you stop carrying a drink, you should probably know that and tell your customers.
It took forever to get them to take our food order.
Unless some people left early to get back to work, no dishes were removed after we finished eating. So we were hanging out and trying to tally up the bill while dodging puddles of salsa and bits of food.
They don't separate checks. Okay, you, the restaurant owner has decided not to allow this. Fine. No problem. But you have to contend with guests who pay part of their meal and then leave while others are there. You might want to consider bringing out a new bill showing what was paid for (including tax and tip if this has been included for a large party).
The waitress "conveniently forgot" to tell us that some of our party had paid part of the included gratuity, and the manager tried to argue that what our early departing party members had left wasn't part of the included gratuity, but rather, "just what they felt like leaving" so that the waitress would get an extra large tip because we would think that the six remaining people had to pay the whole gratuity for all nine of us. That kind of sly dishonest treatment is what will make me never want to go back.

Other than that, we had a good time. Ian and I met some of Lena's friends and one of the other couples was also new. It was the first time we've hung out with other couples and I for one, really enjoyed it. It was awesome to go for a leisurely lunch on a Thursday afternoon with cool people.

Afterwards we headed to IKEA because I've been daydreaming about a dining room table. Specifically this one:

Instead, we bought a white rectangle table:

Even though I love the tulip-like one, I actually think this other one fits into our space better. We've pushed it against the bookshelf so that we have extra space, but we can pull it out when we have guests. We also bought two folding chairs that are nice enough to use everyday until we find some others we want more permanently. Then, the chairs will be used as extra seating.
And for now here's the dining room:

I am so happy to be enjoying meals at a table again. And eating my soft boiled egg with toast.

Need a Coke bottle from 1970? I've got you covered

2011-11-16T14:38:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I went on a hunt for chairs. We don't have a table yet, but I know exactly which one I want from IKEA so I thought I'd start contemplating chairs to go with it, you know, so we can sit at a table instead of our easy chairs for dinner?
We've been in our apartment for two months right now, but because we spent all our money on the move we haven't had a chance to buy any new furniture and we're living life like frat brothers in their new off campus apartment. I mean, if frat brothers also shared a queen sized mattress on the floor in the only bedroom in the apartment. I've tried to mitigate the feeling of emptiness in the apartment by setting up the place as much as possible. Our bookshelf is unpacked and the pictures that will go on the wall above the futon I want to get are organized and waiting to be hung. I've hung a world map above the bed to give the room a little more structure, and organized the bedside tables. But that's it. You remember, we had to throw out our bed frame when we were in hand to hand combat with the bedbugs, and since it was worn out and we were planning to move anyway, we thought we'd save ourselves some trouble and just wait to replace it. We've been living off a mattress on the floor since March, and it's not too bad, but I do look forward to the day when I don't have to literally roll out of bed to get up in the morning.
So, in light of our planned trip to IKEA tomorrow, I went out and did a little thrift shop scoping. I wasn't sure what I'd find so instead of pressuring myself to buy something I just enjoyed a day of driving around town to the thrift shops I've never seen before. And I also stopped by the Austin Antique Mall.

Not exactly a thrift mall, but a find nonetheless. I've never really been to an Antiques Mall before, and I'm kicking myself that I haven't. At first when I walked in I thought it would be like a tiny, cramped store I once visited in Old Town Alexandria on my break, Trojan Antiques [snicker]. That store was a maze of glass cases stuffed full of everything from tchotchke to treasure. Need a vintage add for Alka-seltzer? Or perhaps the belt buckle of a Civil War major? How about some silver spoons?

The Austin Antique Mall does have a bit of that vibe, but it also has a hip, modern approach to vintage (if that's not too much of an oxymoron). The whole warehouse is broken up into separate vendor spaces, each measuring about a four by four spot. Some of these spaces are outlined in the center of the store by quickly constructed walls and tape on the floor. Others are actual little nooks in the perimeter of the building. Each vendor gets to display his wares in his own way. For some that means everything out to see, crammed onto display tables or into display cases. The amount of things in some of the spaces is enough to overwhelm even the most experienced thrift/antiques shopper. Other vendors choose to curate their spaces to fit their own aesthetic. There was one space made up exclusively of vintage Christmas decor. Another was all white. Some looked like the wet dream of a Restoration Hardware designer and others like the too cool for school apartment Aja and I once considered subletting in, until we discovered a bedroom with a broken window in January.

I examined every vendor space, winding my way around the maze, hoping by the end that there was still more I hadn't discovered. I made a fast promise to myself that from now on, if I get the urge to buy decorations for a space this is the only place to go. If you need or want something unique and cool for a space, these people have you covered for prices that seem pretty reasonable. I only wish I'd brought a camera so I could document some of the great things I found. Unfortunately, even though there were some very cool chairs I didn't see any that fit my budget or my vision, so I'm still shopping. But if Texas is filled with antique malls like this one, then I think life just got a little better here.

image:
http://barnchicantiques.blogspot.com/

Failure is success if we learn from it. - Malcolm Forbes

2011-10-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

Julia,
I want to try some of those bread recipes. It might be easier for me to do them than the recipes I've been screwing up! Tried a few more times and I'm still at a loss. Sometimes I know what I did wrong and sometimes I am completely confused by why I now have a heavy hunk of non-rising dough.
Fortunately, my cooking has still remained fairly decent. I have had a few mishaps. Like when my lamb roast was way too chewy and we had to pick up the bone-in lamb and gnaw it off. When I looked up some suggestions on how to cook lamb roast they said a good searing pan fry would be good. But I really should have slow cooked it. It made me angry because the sides and my intention were so good and it was Sunday dinner, so I wanted the lamb to be great. I got it from a farmer's market and it cost a little more than I can afford, so that was even more disappointing, that I screwed it up.
The other frustrating failure were the black eyed beans. I cooked them following the directions on the back (which usually is pretty reliable) but even after everything I did to combat it, they were hard and dry. I ate them with quinoa I'd made earlier just because I was starving. Ian ate them too, and we laughed about how I can make some really good sh*t but I can't make beans. We went to the grocery store and loaded up with some more dried beans so I can try it again. But here are some of my recent successes:

Corn bread topped with shrimp, tomato and avocado salad. Carrots on the side and parsley as a garnish

No egg, no butter cake with cherry preserve sauce

Chicken Corn Chowder (more to follow)

Lightly breaded trout on a bed of Israeli couscous with corn, mango, avocado and tomato salad

Bread! I actually did it! Once!

Tomato Soup (croutons made with your gift, The Green Kitchen)

Braised chicken thigh with squash, zucchini and carrots

Garlic and cheddar buttermilk biscuits

How to make bread like a Batswana

2011-10-15T05:19:00.003-04:00

Dear Meredyth,
Remember the other night when we spoke on the phone and you told me about your trials and errors baking bread? We talked about how bread can be so difficult, the slightest miscalculation of an ingredient, rising time, room temperature or mishandling the dough can ruin your work completely. I remember writing a blog post so long ago about my love/hate relationship with baking bread, my first efforts always end with me throw the dry, crumbling mess of dough out the window, but the second or third try ends perfectly so by then I forget how much stress and anger I felt earlier. In Botswana some sort of bread is baked at home a few times a week. Some days it's a sandwich type of loaf, but also biscuits, rolls, "fat cakes" (fried dough), flat breads and dumplings are baked through the week. Bread baking is not for elite bakers, or wannabes like myself, every woman in the household bakes. Baking, like cooking, is an enjoyable exercise, never stressful or angering. Also, the Batswana never use a measuring cup, spoon, timer or a recipe, they just do it.
Recipe
~3 cups wheat flour &~ 1 cup all purpose flour
1 packet of yeast
2 tsps salt
1/3 cup brown sugar (optional)
~1 cup warm water
~1/2 cup whole milk
~2 tbsps butter (soft!)
First combine all the dry ingredients, including the yeast into a large bowl, mix it well with your hands.
Make a pit in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the milk and start mixing it with your hands.
Cut in the butter.
Add the warm water 1/3 cup at time, folding the dough until more water is needed. You may have to add a little more warm water (or instead of water), you want the dough to be sticky but not too sticky.
Keep kneading the dough until it looks like what bread dough should look like.
Pinch off about a baseball size piece of dough with your hands and form balls. Feel free to roll the balls in oats, nuts or sprinkle some spices on top (butter the tops just a bit).
Bake on a greased or non stick sheet @ 350 until they're golden on top.
Boom, bread balls.

Make it pula!

2011-10-14T05:36:00.004-04:00

Dear Meredyth,
Thank you for your patience, I know that it has been a while since I've written to you but there are far less wifi hot spots in Kanye, Botswana. Today I lucked out though, I am currently sitting at the Kanye Public Library where the wifi is free, the shelves are empty, the tables full of kids skipping school, and everyone is staring at me (I'm pretty used to the last one but it is pretty obnoxious). I have been in Botswana for exactly one month today, it feels like years though. Those last few weeks of summer feel like memories from years back. I can hardly believe that your wedding was only months ago, the sister nights, going away parties, and tear filled good-byes were just over a month ago. Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in training is crazy, scary, exciting, and boring all at once. Everyday is actually a new adventure, but the safari kind of African adventure, more like Lost in Translation, Meet the Parents, and a touch of Animal Farm (only because there are so many farm animals roaming around downtown). I don't think I can count how many lessons or discoveries about myself have occurred in this time already but, lots of them, some are harder to deal with than others. For the sake of time (the school children are now approaching me in turn saying "one pula, one pula" which is Bots' dollar) and because uploading photos on this internet connection is nearly impossible, I'll share some of the highlights:
1. Sometimes we eat awesome food here in Botswana. The traditional cuisine is delicious, nutritious and affordable. The house maid for my host family makes fresh Phaphata bread every Wednesday, the dough is simple and can be stuffed with meats, veggies, or cheese; it can be lightly fried or baked with a sprinkling of sugar, so good. Diklotho is another cheap favorite, it's like a brean and grain soup but we spice it up and throw in carrots, onions, cumin and pepper. I know it's just soup but the beans taste so fresh and they have an awesome crunchiness too. The most decadent of my favorite traditional foods it the minced lamb stew, it has a name is Setswana that has too many clicks in it for me to type or pronounce, this we make by boiling the lamb with spices and putting it in a huge wooden grinder to punch it til its tender.
2. Sometimes the food sucks in Botswana. So there's this other thing they eat all the time called Poridgee made from corn maize, cooked it's the consistency of polenta, but it's white, bland, and there's always a softball size of it on my plate. The Batswana love this stuff, or really anything that is a starch. If poridgee is not taking over my plate then a mountain of rice or pasta takes it's place. Also, the favorite sauces to pour over your starchy carbs loaded plate is ketchup or tangy mayonnaise. I have twice now eaten a bowl of rice with ketchup and mayo for dinner, not my favorite moments.
3. The Botswana sun is beautiful and brutal. I run every other morning with my friend & fellow trainee Adam around the village. We meet up at 5:45am to run for about an hour. I know that sounds crazy but we got to bed here around 8:30pm so I wake up at 5:00am no matter what. Every run is rewarded with a sunset that I swear was more beautiful than the last but could not possibly be real. The sky is full of colors I never saw in nature before I came here. By 8:30am I am walking the 3km from my house to the training center the sun feels like a space heater on my head. Most days I wear my big floppy hat and carry my umbrella to help. I love the sun in Botswana but summer is just around the corner and I am actually scared that I will bake.
4. Pula in Setswana means rain, but it is also the word used for the currency, like the dollar. Everyone in Botswana asks me for money, my host mom, the kids that follow me up and down the road, the owner of the public library, the old ladies that sit in their yard all day. I had begun to hate the word Pula, until Independence Day. The Batswana pray for rain every day and they pray a lot, every meeting, event, workshop or anything really is opened with prayer. Most times these prayers are the usual thanks and blessings, but on Independence Day the Batswana scream pray, and they scream "Pula! Pula! Pula!". Or when a leader, chief, or poet says something exceptional they cry out "Pula!"
The Batswana and I are still getting to know each other, I'm optimistic that the pointing and begging will end someday, but I plan on cheering "Pula!!" at least once a day for the next two years.
Love you,
Julia/ Neo (my Setswana name)

2 Videos Stolen from 2 Great Ladies

2011-09-27T10:10:00.001-04:00

A Levi's Jeans commercial that inspires you to live life (and yes, want their jeans). This one came from So Much To Come. And a video that will inspire you to do some of that living through really delicious food. I got it from Peas Are Sweet. Funny how these two inspiring videos also seem to sum up their interests so well. I miss them. And you, Julia.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Sometimes the path you're on is not as important as the direction you're heading. ~Kevin Smith

2011-09-25T19:44:00.000-04:00

Today we went for our second ever hike in Austin. Actually, it's our second ever hike as a couple. But part of moving to this city was to kickstart ourselves into doing. Something about Northern Virginia always made me feel like the hassle was too great and the reward too small. But now we've undertaken this crazy flight to another part of the country in order to achieve dreams and it's been a moderate success so far so why not continue on, knocking down hurdles to life in all sorts of directions. We're trying to be more active and I've decided that hiking is one of those ways we should do it. A blogger I read on occasion, and am always inspired by, MightyGirl, talked about her aversion to working out and my reaction was exactly! Why haven't I been able to verbalize it like that? She said:

Now. Say you’re hurting and feeling fat. OK! Let’s put on some shorts and go somewhere public. Great. Are there lots of men here? Perfect. Now do something that makes you sweat. You’re all sweaty? Now stop, lay down on the floor, and contort yourself in ways so lewd you would blush to adopt similar positions while having actual intercourse. Great, great. See how every man in the room is openly gawking at you? Ignore that.

I'd add a few other things, but that sums up how I feel about going to a gym. I've never been what you would call "athletic". I never got picked first for games and I didn't care. When I was 7 I played soccer and accidentally scored the first goal of the season at one of our games. I didn't even know what happened until my dad picked me up cheering over it. When we played softball in school I was more concerned with swiping at the cloud of gnats that took kamikaze dives at my eyes than what was happening in the infield (also, I was concerned with getting hit when a ground ball came at me). During recess most of the kids played soccer. Me and my friends walked around the schoolyard. Or sat under trees. Sweating always seemed too messy.

Basically, working out doesn't fit into my image of myself. I feel like there are So. Many. More. ENJOYABLE things to do in life. That is basically my workout dogma. Rewards in the future don't do much for me. I rationalize that I don't really need it in the first place so why bother working toward it, if the present is so uncomfortable. My default setting is epicurean. The philosopher Epicurus believed that pleasure is the greatest good. But the way to attain pleasure was to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one's desires. This leads one to attain a state of tranquility and an absence of bodily pain We typically categorize epicureanism as a form of hedonism, but only because it declares pleasure as the sole intrinsic good, and its advocacy of a simple life make it different from our general preconceptions about hedonism.

I do, however, like being outdoors. I do like the challenge of getting up a mountain, or the inspiration of seeing new sights and the beauty of how our physical world is changed by such small forces like wind and water over long periods of time. What? Geology was the only science I excelled at.

Therefore, hiking is one way to trick my mind into doing something good for my body. I've discovered that if my mind thinks it's interesting, and can be occupied, I can do it. Therefore, activities where I can achieve a sense of tranquility with a moderate amount of physical discomfort works best for me. Things like yoga, walking, hiking, or swimming seem to fit into this category well and I intend to start incorporating them into my life.

So here are some pictures of our hike, which was kinda the whole point of this post in the first place. But then I got philosophic. Sorry!

O, Pioneers!

2011-09-13T13:30:00.000-04:00

This is a statue of a pioneer woman outside the State Capitol of Texas. We saw it yesterday and I've been thinking about it for a while. I joke about our pioneer adventure but am slowly realizing just how real that is, and what a poor example of a pioneer woman I make.

We are in our extended stay hotel in Austin. We have little money for things other than rent and deposits and U-Haul trucks so we find free things to do that will educate us about our new home town, like visiting Zilker Park to find out what people do outdoors in Austin, or exploring the state capitol, which is like the one in Washington, only pinker. We eat PBandJs on white-like wheat bread and turkey with cheese, or in Ian’s case roast beef, salami and cheese on white bread. Icy Coke Zeros wash it down. Some mornings we even have sandwiches for breakfast.

We spend a whole day in bed.

Our Travels So Far

2011-09-10T12:46:00.000-04:00

We left home on Saturday and shed tears as we drove off, leaving our roommate Jay and Del Ray behind us. You'll understand what I mean soon, as you realize that the familiar world around you will soon be gone, and everything in front of you is new and unfamiliar. It's exciting and frightening at the same time.

We first drove to see family and everything felt normal, like we were just on a long road trip. We held Paige when she woke up happy and smiling at 1 a.m. and listened to Luke chat incoherently the next morning; we spun around in Robby's go-cart and then the Model A; we sat through a black out with Ian's parents and went out to a bar with one of his oldest friends. Then, we departed from everything we know and continued to Texas. It rained heavily when we arrived in Birmingham where Ian's parents have been living, rained all night and halfway through Mississippi, then it got gorgeous. We stopped in a town called Chunky to use the bathroom and made jokes about the town of Chunky being in the fattest state in the country. Crossing the Mississippi River I promised to read Huckleberry Finn. I began to understand why this river was Mark Twain's muse.

After about two days of eating fast food (including one day where we had Sonic by choice for lunch and then had it again for dinner because that was the only thing open where we stopped for the night) and constant driving we made it to Texas where we almost immediately went out for a drink at the Austin Draughthouse and met up with Steve and his girlfriend. Don't confuse the Draughthouse with the Alamo Draft House which is also awesome, but involves movies and food and beer, whereas the Draughthouse just involves lots of beer.

Ever since then we've been hanging out in Austin, apartment searching and exploring.

One way ticket on the Candy Express

2011-09-07T14:25:00.002-04:00

Dear Meredyth,
One week from today I will move to Africa. One week left in Richmond. One week left in the United States. One week left to enjoy all the comforts of home and time spent with my closest friends. So far it's been an odd week, I haven't done much of my favorite things to do here in Richmond. Why you ask? Well for one, we have had thunderstorms all day everyday, usually this would not deter me from riding to my favorite haunts but the wind, rain, and lightning is actually pretty daunting. The other reason for the odd feelings this is week is that my absolute favorite restaurant (bar/venue/coffeeshop/hangout spot with all of my favorite people) Sprout, closed its doors forever on Saturday. On Sunday we had a really big Goodbye Sprout party featuring every Richmond band we could get on one stage in one night, buckets full of free PBR, and more friends than could actually fit in the small former restaurant. It was a really bittersweet night, but tons of fun and wild times.
On Labor Day I took Trasheigh out to another favorite restaurant, Ipanema, to treat her to her favorite sandwich and a huge slice of homemade Pear Berry pie. If that was not enough indulgence for one holiday we labored our way through Carytown to get frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog. Sweet Frog is actually kind of a creepy establishment, with huge fluorescent lights that illuminate bright the green and pink frog decorations, the ambiance is amplified by loud teen pop that can be heard three blocks in every direction.
Yeah, it does sounds like a weird version of Limited Too, a place no person should actually enter, and yeah FROG is an acronym for Fully Rely On God, which is even weirder, but let me tell you, the toppings bar makes one immediately forget all the reasons you previously had for boycotting such a place.
On Monday night, right before my sugar high wore off and the stomach ache began I had a great idea for an objective for the week. To drown away my sorrows/ postpone dealing with my fears about moving, I plan to sure my huge sweet tooth (which will probably be very sad when I live in Africa) all week. Last night after sushi with my old roomies we brought tons of stop candy like Reese's wafer bars, Mallowbars, M&M's pretzels, and Starburst and had an awesome stick fingered, cheap wine flowing girls night. Today, lunch at Sweet Frog with Will, dinner tonight with Dad and Sally at a new Middle Eastern place (not sure which one yet, but one with lots of Baklava). And to end the week right, also for the Big Ass Combo Party, I'm baking this cake, and I am super pumped. It's a triple layer Almond Cake with Raspberry filling and Bittersweet whipped ganache frosting from Smitten Kitchen. Also, to satisfy those guests that are chocolate lovers (of which there will be many) I am making the best extra dark cocoa brownies.
I wish you could be here. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip down south to Austin!
With all the love of chocolate,
Julia

Rock You Like A Hurricane

2011-08-29T14:09:00.002-04:00

Wanna add some extra drama to the final hang out of a sister about to move halfway across the country and a sister about to leave for another continent for Peace Corps? Introduce the most hyped up hurricane in years, add two separate two hour drives, a two bedroom house, two poodles, another sister, a father and a stepmother. Toss in some Apples to Apples, cocktails and stir. Pour into glasses, cut the electricity and enjoy!

This is how we rode out Hurricane Irene. Originally intended as a relaxing chill session in Richmond with Dad and Sally, the end result was way more memorable.

I arrived in Richmond from Alexandria around 6:30pm and they took me to their new favorite restaurant, Bacchus. Even though they were sold out of the foie gras I wanted to try, everything else was delicious. I hope they become the kind of regulars that Richmond seems to inspire.

The next day you called to tell us that the Megabus you were supposed to take down from D.C. was cancelling your ride due to the weather and you had no way of getting down to join us. Luckily, you were able to convince Wendy she should drive you down and we could all have a Byrd slumber party. Dad, Sally and I went for lunch at a great pho place that also has an extensive beer selection, Mekong, and then stocked up for your arrival at Target and Kroger. A misread text message led to a new family joke.
ME: "hey, can you get pom? I'll pay you back."
YOU: "Porn?"
ME: "Pom the juice you sicko."
a minute later...
WENDY: "hey can you get porn?"
ME: "already did. Family porn night!"
WENDY: "I love the Byrds."

And with the POM I was able to make homemade grenadine, which really elevated our Hurricane cocktails to a new level. Or maybe it was the 4 oz. of rum per drink?

Hurricanes with real grenadine (in the center) and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies: supplies for a hurricane

Then we gathered around to play Apples to Apples after the electricity failed. Because this meant the AC also went out we opened the door and slid the glass panels of the screen door down so that a breeze passed through along with daylight. The trees whipped around and the rain poured but the gusts blowing through the house were so light that our cards were upset only once or twice. It made us a little cocky about the strength of the Level One Hurricane.

Later that night your friend Will came by and took you to a party that still had light, at least it did until you arrived. Wendy, Dad and I sat around in candlelight drinking beer and eating brie (doing our part to cut down on waste from a dead refrigerator!) and talking. How often do we get such opportunities?

The next morning I woke up to the smell of bacon, the maple kind, and the sound of dad speaking softly in the kitchen while tidying. It reminded me of Saturday mornings when we were kids, and I lay in bed thinking about all the things that have changed and are about to change since I used to hear this sound on a regular basis. Wendy was asleep next to me, we had fallen asleep after whispering in the dark about love and relationships and how to have serious talks with boyfriends. I got up after a few minutes and took a shower. By the time I was out and dressed Will was there and you and he made challah bread french toast. This is my favorite picture right now.

Challah back girl!

After breakfast you and Will and me went for a walk with our cameras while Wendy joined Dad and Sally at the dog park. We couldn't get into the park you wanted to take me to, but we did find some big trees that had been tossed around by the storm. We climbed them. This is my other favorite picture, my little sister about to go off to Botswana as (seemingly) fearless as she was here:

Two weeks notice

2011-08-29T11:04:00.002-04:00

Dear Meredyth,
I have officially two weeks left in the United States, then I high tail it outta here to Botswana, Africa. I have a suspicion that America is pissed at me for jumping ship and might be punishing me with earthquakes and hurricanes. Due to old Irene our house is still out of electricity, but luckily I have the keys to friends' houses and my good friends down at Sprout who are kind enough to let me plug in. Even though it is slightly obnoxious to not be able to sit in my house reading my morning news, checking the Peace Corps blogs, and drinking my own coffee, it's a reminder of all the comforts and loved ones that I will be leaving here in Richmond. Botswana is going to be an amazing adventure, I am so excited, but it is also a scary thought. Although I have always dreamed of working for the Peace Corps, I've never done anything like this before, not even close. I've never moved further than 2 hours from my family and friends. I've never lived without "first world" comforts like WiFi, gourmet restaurants, really good coffee, shopping malls, organic grocery stores, happy hours with delicious beers & friends, television, easy transportation, smart phones, gyms, people who speak English, movie theatres... well the list goes on.
Someone once asked me if I were sent back in time to the Middle Ages, what could I possibly teach anyone who lives there? If you really, really think about it, I can't teach them much. All of my knowledge, skills, and resources, are dependent on some sort of technology. Even if I were to try to explain concepts like, disease cause bacterias or medicines, how could I explain that? All I know is that doctors have discovered that some bacteria is bad, and they created medicines and soaps to help the problem. But I can't even make soap!
When I come back from Africa, if I accomplish anything, I want to be able to teach these people something. I want to take the knowledge that I got from my fancy college degree, job experience, and life experience, and do something actually useful with it! Also, ( this seems selfish to me) I want to learn from them, I want to learn everything I possibly can from them. The Batswana people have taken what resources they have, a landlocked, mostly arid desert region of 1.8 million people, and are now a middle income country with high literacy rate and the longest life expectancy in Africa. Unlike America (and most other late developing countries) the culture and knowledge of indigenous people was not discarded or discredited as backwards. The traditions of the Khalari people are valued, and still common practice. Why? Because this knowledge was developed over centuries and it works. That is the knowledge I want, how to make crops grow in the desert, how to birth babies in a straw hut, how to make my own clothes, but mostly I want to learn the art of sitting still. I want to sit, look around and soak up the scenery for hours, and not worry about a single to do list, ever.
But right now I'm going to enjoy this free range roast beef sandwich and drink a local craft beer.
Love you lots,
Julia

Austin, Prepare Thyself

2011-08-16T13:25:00.001-04:00

Our other moving option

This is the text of an email I sent to Ian about our choices in the impending move to Austin:

Hello, since I won't get to see you for a while I thought I'd email you and let you know what I learned while researching the wonderful world of moving options.

1. Budget Rental is no budget. It was more expensive than UHaul. And that does not include fuel.

(Then we thought about movable containers, where we pack everything and they ship it for us. This would avoid the need for us to drive the moving truck, tow my car and navigate things like off ramps, parking, height restrictions and the overall feeling that the car has become dislodged and is drifting aimlessly through traffic. It would also save on fuel costs, which would probably be in the range of $500.)

2. PODS has awful reviews. Very few were positive, most involved sludge, smells or water that somehow got into the "secure" pods. Plus, they are more expensive than Budget, coming in around 2,690. No thank you.

3. Next I researched Door to Door. Better reviews, not much better prices: $2078

4. Some other locations want me to call them to get a quote. I hate calling when you should be able to do this online in 2011. Others aren't available in our area.

5. Upack (no relation to the Haul) has decent reviews, friendly people and a good price. I got a (relatively) cheap quote of $1740 from them. Then I saw their other money saving options and called to learn about them.

Kent told me all about the "terminal 2 terminal" rate, the off peak days rate and the space saving rate. Not all of these go together, but at least a couple would save us some money. The best option is to pack super efficiently and only use 5 ft. Then have them deliver it to their terminal and we'd rent a truck in Austin and load it up there and move it to our place. This would cost us $1240. I say we do it. We'd still have to rent and reload a truck but it would be much cheaper and we wouldn't have to drive cross half the country with the truck and a car on the back of it.

Later, we realized that "terminal 2 terminal" meant we'd have to pack up a moving truck, drive to their location in Manassas, repack the shipping container and then do the opposite in Austin. We opted for the "delivery 2 terminal" option which means we'd have three days at the apartment to load it up, then have someone ship it to a location in Austin while we drive there at a leisurely pace and visit family on the way. It's a $100 extra but oh so worth it if it means only carrying boxes three times instead of four.

Setting Up House

2011-08-10T15:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Julia, As a married woman I have certain duties and obligations now. Laundry, dishes, ironing, vacuuming and cooking are things a proper wife should do, right? Just kidding!

What, did you think my kitchen would be clean now that I'm married? Ha! In fact, I'm ignoring a pile of dishes left over from Monday's dinner now! That, and two giant piles of clean clothes in the bedroom, my desk area has become a catchall for everything I don't want to deal with and I am currently writing this post from my chair in a rather untidy living room.

But in reality, I don't like a messy living space. I prefer my rooms tidy and my kitchen sparkling. I just have a hard time maintaining that in the real world. Sure, I can clean and scrub and iron (in fact I often enjoy it). What I can't do is seem to keep the place looking as if I'd just done those things. And it's not like I have to do it all on my own. When we got back from our honeymoon and I had to go straight back to work Ian scrubbed the tub and cleaned the kitchen. He also likes ironing and won't say no to vacuuming. But then we slip back to lax ways. I think part of it might be our current living and working situation. We have odd hours and when we do have time off, we'd rather not be cleaning. Plus, we're moving soon and have a roommate and the effort just seems Sisyphian. But, in planning for the move and setting up our own home together I just bought a book that might help me tackle the unknown world of cleaning. Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House (as seen above). Here's what others have to say:
"it is as much about housekeeping as Moby Dick is about fishing. It's about doing mindless chores mindfully... There is something attractively nerdy about Mendelson's obsession with getting to a deep technical understanding of whatever needs to be done. So much good-spirited lore swims in this book, that you can pick it up anywhere and find yourself reading hours later about the absolute best way to iron. Ordinary chores are given a new life. I haven't seen such behavior-changing information in ages." - KK.org

"a 'compendium of knowledge' and 'comprehensive reference book' that will make keeping house 'far more enjoyable' and will 'answer all your questions.'" -- ApartmentTherapy.com

Mendelson is a lawyer and philosophy professor who had a secret love of housekeeping manuals and cleaning her house. This book is her magnum opus of how to set up and maintain a clean home using both common sense, science and obviously some elbow grease. I'm unabashedly excited about getting it in the mail. And now, off to combat the dishes! I'll update you on my success once her book arrives (and we have our own place in Austin).

Celery & Cucumbers & Politics

2011-08-10T15:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Julia, I found it funny that Michele Bachmann recently revealed her favorite food and my first thought was "Wow, another reason to dislike the woman". Why would I dislike her based on a food passion alone? Because her favorite food is celery. That's why. Celery! Stringy, bitter, and always popping up in places when I least expect it! In fact, it's much like the woman herself.

I hate celery almost as much as I hate cucumbers. Don't even try to disguise it with a name like "Ants on a Log". Peanut butter and raisins can't dress this loser up. I dislike it in soups, stuffings, salads and side dishes. Okay, I don't actually know any side dishes that feature it, that was just some nice alliteration. The only thing I will use celery for is the leaves, and that in a soup. I actually like them there, nicely sauteed with some pancetta before I add the rest of the soup ingredients.

I don't exactly know why I dislike celery so much. It's not the texture, I actually like snapping pieces of it. I think it's the watery bitterness of it that really bothers me. And when it's cooked it still has that watery taste and remains stringy. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. Much like my other most hated vegetable: cucumbers.

Samuel Johnson once said about cucumbers: "A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing,” which pretty much sums up how I feel about them as well. Yes, they are great in a facial mask, or moisturizer, and they're quintessentially British but put them anywhere near my food and I'll wretch. Even if they're picked off of my salad it's as though the greens have been contaminated. I can taste the flavor. Everyone says they're bland, and there isn't even a flavor to them, but I know they're wrong. It's bitter and watery. Actually, minus the texture they are just like celery. Perhaps this explains my dislike of the two green vegetables.

Don't even think that this post will end with a reveal that once they were properly prepared I liked them, just like with Brussel sprouts. I have had them properly prepared and I intend to continue following Samuel's advice, only I'd like to add celery and Ms. Bachmann to things that are good for nothing.

“I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults.” Molly Ivins

2011-07-29T18:59:00.000-04:00

Dear Julia, We are finally in Austin, Texas. I honestly don't know what to tell you. I can see how that quote above might apply but I'm still in exploration mode, trying to suss out what I think of the place. Texas is endlessly interesting. There is so much to see and wonder about. It's beautiful and rugged.

We drove around some neighborhoods today and decided we both really like Barton Springs and Hyde Park. There seem to be more "artsy" places in Barton Springs as well as the swimming spot made famous in town, but Hyde Park is closer to UT and has more apartments so we'll probably end up there. We're going to go check out that swimming spot tomorrow.

I'm a little worried that we've sunken into a typical problem with moving to a brand new city.
A: We have only gotten to see the surface of the city. We've been to Sixth Street and are staying on Congress. There are some great places on here, but it's almost too Austin. It's as if these places cater to the tourist's idea of what Austin might be. And it's cool, I like it, but I wouldn't want to live on these streets. So I get anxious that we've misjudged the city and all there is is bold colors, bright lights and hipsters.
OR, we have option B: We've over hyped ourselves on what Austin would be like, and how relaxing, friendly and great it will be. Now that we're here Austin can't possibly live up to an imagined wonderland and so I get disappointed as we drive around, always searching for a glimpse of that wonderland I've created in my mind.

In reality, both might be true. We might have overhyped it, but we also haven't had time to really delve into the real Austin to know whether or not under the surface of hipsters and hippies this is a place we could love. We'll keep looking, and I'll keep that image of the wonderland safely tucked away.

Honey Marooned

2011-07-26T16:04:00.001-04:00

This is Canyon Lake, where we are spending the first three days of our honeymoon in Texas. We're staying at the Canyon Lakeview Resort. From the lava formed rocks (that don't seem to absorb heat!) we sit and can only see a small portion of the lake, but even that feels like an ocean. There are canyon cliffs that remind me of something one might see on the Mediterranean. I let the water lap my toes and imagine for a minute I am there, even though this place is also perfect. All we can hear is the water and a drone of a speedboat. A breeze cools us off, even though we are barely hot. It's amazing that 105 F feels so pleasant when the humidity is only half of what you're used to.

We spent three hours here yesterday, and the water lapped away any stress of travel, wedding planning or anxiety over moving. It was almost like a massage of the soul. This morning we went back for two more hours and I brought the camera. I especially like this photo, where you can see my bright pink toes in the water and the scope of the sky and water. Look at the aquamarine tones of this water!

Here is Ian taking in the view from the balcony on our first night. The resort is made up of nice little apartments with kitchens (stocked with the basics needed). They all open out to a balcony with table and chairs and gas grills for each apartment. Ours also has a porch swing. It is almost like a campground combined with a beach. It is basic, but so relaxing that even if the lake weren't there we'd still feel the stress melt away. Even the deer put down their guard and allow themselves to be fed and admired (although mostly from a slight distance). We can't wait to return in later years.

Ooo Summer!

2011-07-18T23:01:00.003-04:00

Dear Meredyth,
Summer time has officially arrived! I was late this year embracing all the wonderful things that summer has to offer, but now that I am done with school, I am ready to dive right in! This is the summer of change, for both of us! I can hardly believe that I actually graduated from college (I am finally catching up with you!), and I am currently baking your wedding cake! How can it be so thrilling, delicious, and slightly horrifying all at the same time? Change is a part of life, acceptance is a part of maturity. This summer I am turning over a new leaf, several actually.
First, after two years I have decided to stop being vegan. I know, right, but it's a good change for me. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and evaluate yourself, rethink your opinions, what led you to your convictions, and what is keeping you there. For me, I loved begin vegan, but in the last six months I realized that my heart and body was not agreeing with it anymore. Also my persistence was due to a fear of failure, rather than a love for the life style.
Second, I am going to teach myself to sit still. The thing is, I love being busy and running around all day. I loathe the phrase "killing time", I run on a tight internal schedule so I have no time to spare. This sense of urgency was good while I was in school, I always did my work, and I never did it all at the last minute. Unfortunately the down side of this is that I am always rushing, and I tend to rush any people I happen to be with, when there is no need. I am slowly realizing that there is a difference between laziness and taking time to appreciate stillness.
These two changes are baby steps that I hope will prepare me for the biggest change this summer, leaving the country and moving to Botswana.
Whoa, deep breaths; these are overnight life changes we are looking at. On a set date you're life will be married, and I will get on a plane to Africa.We can do this marriage/ moving to Africa thing. I know it's hard having that date looming in front of us, but if we just relax a little, and make sure that we appreciate this time we have before these big days.

Summer

2011-07-11T12:15:00.001-04:00

farmers' market tomatoes on the window sill

farmers' market cherries in a cobbler