blue ridge mountains & molehills

nach Deutschland

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:47:00 +0000

Since we've now moved to Germany, there is a new blog. I'll figure out what to do with this one, but in the meantime, go here: http://wiesagtman.wordpress.com/

Berry-picking, this time with 100% more berries

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:28:00 +0000

A few weekends ago, we finally went back to the berry-picking site that we visited in winter. What a difference some sun and heat makes:

Shiny beads of yum

New surprise friend

Blackberries like whoa.

Straight up chillin'.

Not for picking. Just for photo-ops.

Oh, hi.

We got about a quart of blackberries for $7, and I made a blackberry cheesecake with some of them. I love this recipe - I used 1/3 fat cream cheese and added some blackberries on the top for decoration.

me + sewing machine = ?

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:48:00 +0000

I have too much stuff. Some of it I can just banish; the rest of it needs a better, more compact home, that keeps it out of sight until it is actually needed. For example, whenever we are looking for a silly little document (the car registration renewal, for example) it is almost always hiding under a pile of my knitting crap.

Inspired by an idea for a knitting needle case on Design Sponge, I set to work. I was full of energy, and I do need a needle case, and aren't those photos pretty? It was one of those projects that seems like the best idea ever, and something that will definitely go well. I must go buy the canvas! I will measure and fold and calculate the things! I will dust off my sewing machine and just pick back up from where I left it in middle school - sewing machines aren't that hard, right?

It's been a few weeks and it's finally done - sort of. It's full of crazy, drunken stitch lines, with loose ends everywhere. The canvas is uneven and I sort of forgot to consider backstitching to, you know, keep the threads in. However, it looks relatively cute and holds my needles. I'd love to find some number/letter stamps as shown on Design Sponge, and figure out other ways to add some details that cover up all the whoopsies. Hopefully this is just the first of many forays back into sewing machine projects. If enough people ask me if a kid that I'm babysitting made the needle case for me, I may direct my energies elsewhere.

And mom? Remember the Christmas where you got me the sewing machine, and while it was still wrapped up I was convinced it was a Playstation, and then I opened it and it was not a Playstation and I threw a fit and refused to look at it for months and months? Sorry about that. For the record, sewing machines are definitely way cooler than video game systems. Unless we're talking about playing Mario Kart, which could make it a toss-up.

need some help with my Cuisinart

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:19:00 +0000

Does anyone know what this attachment does?

I call manufacturing defect. Off to check the warranty....

Parking Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:12:00 +0000

Dear Ashley,

Since you did not leave any contact information (besides an adorable heart, which shows me how harmless and well-meaning you are), I can only post this on the internets and hope that it reaches you somehow. I know this means it may never reach you, since due to my husband’s ungodly parking job, you are most likely still driving around the city in 100 degree heat, searching desperately for a parking spot that suits you.

Maybe you can enlighten me: I'm not sure how I could be "taking two spaces" when the parking lot does not have “spaces.” It's a gravel wasteland with a lovely open dumpster in between. One parks where one can, generally away from the dumpster. I’m no rocket scientist, but basic physics will tell you that when cars leave, they leave a space that’s relative to their size, and that’s what is left for the next driver to work with. We parked as close to the adjacent car as we could; however, if you’re willing to fashion us some sort of mechanical pulley system for my car, perhaps we could park in a way that’s more to your convenience (Sideways? Generally up?). If you need my help, I’ve got some scotch tape and polyfill stuffing, and I can knit like a grandma on crack.

Putting aside the pesky semantics of a “space,” would you have left this note if I had a massive pickup that took up a lot of room? Like the one that happened to be parked right next to our car? Probably not. That truck has a gorgeous Confederate flag stretched across the back window, and stickers letting you know that the owner has a musket, and “these colors don’t run.” Perhaps out of fear and respect, you let that slide and moved on to a tiny hybrid that was clearly asking for trouble. If this is the case, I’d like to enlist your assistance. I’m considering getting some intimidating stickers for my car, and maybe you could help me pick out the ones that keep people like you away. I’m thinking something along the lines of “Original 40 MPG Gangsta,” “My Other Car DESTROYS the Environment,” or “Parks Like a Compact Motherfucker.” I’m totally open to brainstorming on this.

Regardless of our conflicting views on say, basic logic and how to interact with others, I wanted to thank you. You could have just as well left the note on any other car in that row, but you chose mine. I am honored that you decided that I was the one worthy of your teachings. I had never before considered how there are “alot” of cars and minimal parking. I myself have never had a problem finding a place to park in the lot in the year I’ve lived here, and if I did, I would just go back down to the street and grab one of the dozen spots that is always available there. I didn’t stop to consider people like you for whom the street just won’t cut it.

If you’d like, I can put out some traffic cones so that you can have the primo space downwind of the open-air dumpster. It’ll definitely mask the smell of whatever milk-based Starbucks drinks you’re always spilling all over the interior of your car and then bitching about on Facebook. You’ll also get to meet some really cool new bug species that will take up residence in your car. I’ll be vigilant about writing passive-aggressive smiley-face notes on any other car that dares to park there. We can make this work for you!

I also want to commend you on your problem-solving skills. By writing that note, you’ve cut to the heart of the “problem” (notice how I put the word problem in quotation marks? Let’s think about why I might have done that…) and ensured that you will always be able to find a place to park that is to your liking.

Please have a wonderful day as well, at least better than it was when you wrote that note,

Sam

Spinach Gnocchi

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 01:44:00 +0000

These are mostly ricotta cheese, spinach, and eggs, with just a little bit of flour. It's a perfect meal for when it's too hot to eat much, but it still fills you up. The recipe is from my Bartlett Farm Nantucket cookbook, which I don't look at nearly as much as I should.

My photos skip a few steps in the middle, and then I almost forgot to take pictures before they were devoured, but here is an abbreviated version of the process:

Cook that spinach!

Eggs and cheese and stuff

Oh look, they're fully formed and baked and there is cheese on top. That was quick and painless. Time for eating!

craigslist --> personals --> missed connections --> my apartment

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Saw you in the kitchen last week - cat4bug

Dear squash bug,

We had fun the other night. I really liked chasing you until you flew onto the ceiling. Then you crawled away somewhere and we lost touch. I've been waiting, staring at random spots on the wall, hoping I'll hear from you again. I hope I didn't come off as too aggressive - I just really liked watching you crawl around and then knocking you off of things. I think we can make it work.

If you're interested in getting together again, shoot me an e-mail. Let me know what color my paws were. (You were gray and a bug).

Hoping to hear from you,

The cat

Cold Coffee?

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:13:00 +0000

...in a good way. The ever-addictive Tastespotting led me to a recipe for coffee popsicles.

As good as these promise to be right from the recipe, they are actually even better if you stop before freezing the drink into popsicles. I tried some of the slushy wonderfulness right from the blender, and it puts a Starbucks Frappuccino to shame. Just the thing you may need to calm down from the stress of bathing suit shopping.

Let's all go to the movies

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Before last night, I knew little about drive-in movie theaters. I had an idea that people would go there to do things in their cars that seemed vaguely inappropriate but not yet definable to the elementary-school mind. Also, sometimes they sing and sometimes they think they might be pregnant. (Thanks, Grease!) Also, there is a movie and one can probably buy snacks.

This scattered and strange understanding of drive-ins made me a little jittery as we waited in line for the gates to open to Hull's Drive-In in Lexington last night. Would everyone in the cars around us be "making out"? Or *worse*? Would we not be cool enough if we didn't do it, too? Does one sit in the car, outside of the car, on the car, in someone else's car? Where does the sound come from? Can I get it on my iPad?

It was a little refreshing to be out of our element due to *old* technology, rather than something new and flashy that those Twitterers use to e-message and do the internets. Also, we were particularly excited because it was a double feature of True Grit and Rango for only $6/person.

First step was to figure out what this alien sound device was:

After getting some onion rings and a lime Sno-Cone, we spread out blankets on the grass in front of the car to watch True Grit. And then the intermission movie:

Aside from a brief moment of panic*, the evening was really fun. Admission and snacks were cheap, and the company was wonderful. Having a pickup truck would have been nice - if we had crawled into the back of my aerodynamic little hybrid and tied down the hatch, we would have been left with about 3 inches of space through which to watch the movie.

*Important cultural note: No one is going to take you seriously if you leave the restroom, return to the now-dark parking lot with the second movie playing, and start running up to random families while sobbing and yelling that you can't find your husband. Not that anyone did. Maybe some people just had to quickly remind themselves of this important cultural note, before they found their car and there were yogurt pretzels and everything was okay.

Attack of the Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 08 May 2011 00:39:00 +0000

Scones are tricky. You can make them sweet or savory and put just about anything in them, but they need a certain consistency to be a hit. I recently made cheddar-rosemary scones and orange-ginger scones for a brunch. Both were good, though definitely not very scone-like. I cut them very small to make more of them and substituted ingredients left and right, either out of necessity or because I did not want to give any guests an instant heart attack.

Then, more recently, I made Ina Garten's maple oatmeal scones:

They were both crunchy and soft, and just sweet enough to earn non-biscuit status. They were the best I have tried to make so far. Oh, and the recipe calls for four sticks of butter and four eggs.

With scones, there is not too much you can do to make things healthier. They need butter, cold chunks of butter, and lots of it. If you're going to throw in fruit and yogurt and flaxseed instead, just go ahead and make yourself some wimpy muffins. Go on, get out. Scones don't have time for this healthy crap. They're busy getting all flaky and heavenly-like.

I'm not sure whether to hang my head in shame or pat myself on the back about this, but I've never successfully been able to follow a recipe like this completely. In the end, I used half margarine and half butter, and put in a tablespoon of corn starch and three tablespoons of water to replace one of the eggs. Of course, no one knew the difference and there were certainly no complaints. I have only my inner turmoil to remind me of how much better these scones could have been, if I could only be true to their origin. Namely, butter. So. Much. Butter.

Signs of spring

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 01 May 2011 21:06:00 +0000

We recently visited the Frontier Culture Museum, in hopes of seeing a sheep shearing demonstration. While that was unfortunately postponed, we still had a great time being greeted around every corner...

"Herro."

"Allo!" "G'day!"

"We sleepin'. Being a few days old is sah-WEET."

"I'll be more mobile when I'm more proportional. Until then, my plan is lots of sleeping, interrupted by awkward moments of trying to stand up and figure out where my back legs go."

"Nom nom nom..."

"Nom nom...huh? Oh, my..."

"Forgive me - I didn't see you there. Can I offer you some dirt? Or straw?"

You had me at "giant turtle"

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This is a long-overdue post, but it's about something inherently cool. A few months ago, we took a day trip up to the Luray Zoo in Luray, Virginia. Rather than being a zoo in the traditional sense, the Luray Zoo is a rescue for animals that are not being treated well, are illegal to keep as pets, or whose owners can simply no longer care for them. It was quite a drive to a remote little town, but it was worth it! Animals not pictured below include giant snakes, vultures, and an alligator turtle donated by Steve Irwin.

Original Gangsters

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Weekend food success

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Orange Chicken on Saturday

Thanks to Meal Planning 101 for the delicious and easy recipe. I ran out of canola oil and used mostly peanut oil to fry the chicken. We ate it with brown rice, and it was so much better than American Chinese takeout. Afterwards I felt full and happy, instead of slightly ill and sleepy.

Blackberry Corn Muffins on Sunday

Because they were Giant brand frozen blackberries, it didn't register until I opened them that these were actually labeled as "giant(adj.) blackberries". Some of them busted a hole right through the bottom of the corn muffins with their mighty, delicious density.

Unfortunately, no photos of finished product. Only crumbs remained by the time anyone thought of taking pictures.

Bunny

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:13:00 +0000

I forgot to give him whiskers, but he seems pretty okay with it:

Happy springtime!

Point Reyes National Seashore

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:29:00 +0000

What a heartbreakingly beautiful place to visit on our last day on the West Coast.

First, go pick up the car. Second, get disoriented and lose $4 to the Bay Bridge. Stop halfway at Yerba Buena Island and pretend this was a planned photo-op.

Get back on track and start to drive north.

And drive...

And get to Point Reyes Station, a town on the San Andreas Fault with a population of 350.

Eat some lunch, then drive some more. Embark on 20 miles of winding road that will take us out to a lighthouse. Gape at everything - green, rolling pastures that drop off into rocky cliffs, surrounded on all sides by an ocean that is an unreal shade of blue.

Get so very close to the end, and then meet some unexpected pedestrians crossing the street. Receive some glares as they pass. Wait patiently anyway, as they could destroy the rented Kia.

And after that, there just aren't words:

Forget that groundhog

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:31:00 +0000

Here is how we know spring is here in VA, a whole day early:

Open windows = happy kitties.

some of the SanFran food

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Bobby G's Pizzeria - our last night there

Point Reyes Station - The Station House Cafe

Fried oysters. Big portions.

Berkeley - Octoberfeast

sugary thing + pretzel croissant + free coffee = $5 (so yum and such a deal)

Balompié - The Mission

pupusas and black bean empanadas

long wait, but the nicest staff we encountered on our trip

Cream - a warm cookie sandwich for $1.50

XOXO Truffles - tiny bits of goodness

Pyramid Brewery

San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:03:00 +0000

Last week we traveled to the distant land of California, where we saw many new and wondrous things, and became accustomed to their strange ways. Their pagan gods make sure that they always have fresh fruit available, at half the cost of what it would be in a VA grocery store. To appease these gods and continue to receive bountiful produce, Californians must participate in a ritual referred to as "recycling". While other places simply dabble in recycling, California recycles with a calculated and detailed vengeance. Discarding of our trash there was daunting, and I began to look forward to finding a standalone trash cans whenever we needed to do so - without a row of additional recycling bins available, we were free to continue our lazy, wasteful ways.

Clearly, our semi-grown-up vacation taught us a lot. For example, we got lost and stuck going over bridges on both sides of the country, but these misadventures did take us to exciting new places, such as "Yerba Buena Island" and "Maryland". Here are some of the more "typical" San Francisco city photos.

Berry picking without the berries

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:17:00 +0000

A trip just south of here brought us to tiny Raphine, VA. Since the name "Raphine" is derived from the Greek for "to sew", it's fitting that we stopped at the Orchardside Yarn Shop. Since shopping for knitting yarn is not an activity that appeals to my male counterpart, it's fortunate that this aptly-named shop is part of a larger orchard. We tromped around in the January snow and pretended it was summer.

Other things to visit in Raphine include (and may actually be limited to) alpacas, wine, and flour.

Lexington and Robert E. Lee.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:23:00 +0000

A recent trip to Lexington taught me all I never knew about Robert E. Lee:

He was big on details, precision, and real-world utility. He studied intensely, and was a master at topography, artillery placement and a ton of other specialties that would make him a good guy to go camping with. He would probably be a strong contender to win "Survivor". He would most definitely be depressed (even more so than he was in his day) to see the descendants of those he fought for using a GPS to get to the McDonald's two blocks away.

He was big on gentlemen being gentlemen, and instilled manners and courtesy as a tenant of education at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). A glance at the Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour, which follow this school of thought, shows how far we've fallen as a society. My personal favorite: "When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usualy Discovered." Point taken.

Lee was big on useful education, and he created the nation's first school of journalism, along with law and business schools that would complement the existing liberal arts curriculum at Washington College. This arrangement was unheard of at the time; however, I have not yet found a market for my college essays on female identity in The Great Gatsby, so I can say with some certainty that Lee might have been on to something.

He was also upfront with his strengths and weaknesses, which was probably for the better of his college's students. On teaching (and why he didn't do it):

"There is an art in making a subject agreeable which I have never found I possessed."

If only we could all be that self-aware. All this intense Civil War history, and the part that gets me the most? He was a sucker for animals (like, buried-with-his-horse kind of a sucker):

"Traveller is my only companion . . . he and I wander out in the mountains and enjoy sweet confidence."

Sweet confidence = loving what you have in front of you, and needing nothing else. If that doesn't sum up what it is to love a pet, I'm not sure what does.

More about visiting the Lee Chapel and Museum in Lexington, VA

More about guys who love their pets

Do not look at me in the eyes!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:49:00 +0000

For years, it's been pretty clear to me that Tina Fey and I are meant to be the best of friends. I don't mean this in a crazy stalker way*. I just think that we have enough in common to create a lasting friendship - including a shared world view rooted almost entirely in how obnoxious other people can be.

Exhibit A: In the latest issue of The New Yorker, Tina takes to task all those who ask way-too-personal life questions and dispense unneeded advice. In her case, it's about balancing work and a family, and she touches on the perverse, startling, and all-too-common question, "So, when are you having kids?"

My number one principle is "Get out of my face. Now." This partially explains why this question (and others like it) dig at me, but there is also a more general disrespect at play that I think many other 20-something women experience as well, married or not. I poked around to see what others had to say on the subject, and I found a surprising number of "What's the big deal with asking?" responses mixed into the vitriol of "none of your beeswax."

I culled a few sassy responses to this question, but my all-time favorite has to be this e-card.

*Please ignore the fact that this is exactly what a crazy stalker would say

Knowing what it means...

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:31:00 +0000

BBQ shrimp Po-Boy and some incredible Gumbo at Luizza's

Some kind of dessert creation from the restaurant at The Mariott

Bananas Foster stuffed French toast, migas con chorizo, and a pumpkin pancake at Surrey's Cafe

They're not tricks! They're illusions!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:19:00 +0000

Yes, I knit.

No, I'm not elderly. I do enjoy Scrabble, and being asleep by 10 pm. I may also have two cats. Now, stop trying to build a wacky stereotype out of all of that. Knitting is badass. And, by the way, I do stay up past 10 sometimes. (Usually to knit...)

Many people are not aware of the fact that knitting is badass. They may happen upon me knitting and offer me some dried prunes, or ask me when Murder, She Wrote comes on. These people are not the smartest. They also are not getting any hats from me.

This blog focuses on the mathematical side of knitting and other crafts. This take on knitting is no surprise to actual knitters, though it is hard to ignore the rote mathy-ness of the website itself (check out the home page for step by step instructions on how to navigate the website).

Aside from the obvious combo-nerdiness of the site topic, the best thing about the site is the World of Illusion Knitting. A cult, you ask? Nah, that's what this place is for. Illusion knitting, or shadow knitting, is a technique that creates a picture in your project - one that is only viewable from a given angle.

If you like this concept, but have no patience to make things for yourself, try going 90's kitsch and getting yourself a T-shirt. Then, if you like that idea, click here in case you need to be explicitly shown why it is (and probably always was) a bad idea. As you might suspect, I suggest taking up knitting instead.

And if you're just into illusions, hypercolor, knitted or otherwise:

noreply@blogger.com (Sam L.) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:26:00 +0000

There is nothing unappealing to me about this video. I love this Swedish man. I love his fancy Minority Report-style screen. I even love the weird, slightly abandoned-looking studio space they're in. Granted, it's probably better off that he has these things. I would most like to rollerblade around the building while chasing my cats, before settling down to knit and watch Interactive 30 Rock. Hans, however, has chosen to use his awesomeness to educate us about global health:

And I might have shared this before, but since it's so cool, I shall share it again:

http://www.visualizing.org/

Data visualization techniques make me feel fairly smart with minimal effort on my part, and all through some pretty little pictures.