GipsieGirl's Wanderings

Once Upon a Time in New York

2015-11-08T18:46:00.000-05:00

A modern fairytale.

Once upon a time, a restless vagabond visited New York on a quest. The ancients of her village had instructed her to find a hidden treasure, one that would refresh her soul, touch her spirit, and wash away the tired callouses of life, advising, "New York is a kingdom of many hidden treasures that will speak to your soul, yet the key is to find the one meant just for you."

The vagabond marveled at the Shakespearean sonnet gardens in Central Park, for her love of the Bard was great and her fascination with iambic pentameter endless. "Perhaps this is my treasure," she thought. "Regardless, it is a treasure no doubt, but I will continue my journey."

The little vagabond trudged on through the shifting shades of the swaying trees, marveling at jazz musicians and wandering opera singers, until she stood quietly contemplating an angel beckoning to her from a captive sea. "I shall add this to my treasure of memories," she thought, "though my hidden treasure is yet to be found."

At the sight of a crying maiden she was much disturbed, and pitied the maiden's unfortunate dye job while secretly envying her perfect eyelashes. "The esteemed Sir Lichenstein is a great treasure indeed," she noted, though perhaps not the one she sought.

Next, the vagaond turned to find herself viewing the most beautiful painting she had seen in her life. "Never," thought she, "have I seen all of the magic, heartbreak, joy, and beauty of the entire world held captive on a single piece of canvas."

"I shall add this to my memories of my greatest moments in life," she thought, "and yet, inexplicably, I feel that my quest is not yet complete."

A great arch by surprise did take the damsel, and her eyes strained to decipher the mysterious carvings and gallant words. Though it was indeed of stunning stature and style, the scent of viands of Italian influence irresistibly drew her away to the village of green witches. There, she found neither witches nor sorcerers, instead savoring hidden bookstores, crisply scented ice cream parlors, delightfully grungy cafes, and succulent oases of spice, sandwiches, and cider.

The next morning, after sleeping above the fragrant open-air shops selling Lady Chelsea's flower, the vagabond set out once more. "Soon I must return to my hamlet, so I must find the hidden treasure soon."

She trekked along the broadest way she had ever trod, marveling at the throngs of sojourners and colossal, seemingly mile-high paintings of minstrels, merchants, and musicians. The little vagabond spotted one in particular, which stood confidently apart from the rest, like a phantom surveying the unknowing world of the daytime.

The little vagabond smiled. For her quest was complete.

Featured Quote: Walt Whitman

2015-07-18T18:30:00.000-04:00

"Vigil of silence, love and death, vigil for you my son and my soldier,

As onward silently stars aloft, eastward new ones upward stole..."

"Daybreak Gray and Dim" (1890s)

Walt Whitman

I came across this striking painting while on a business trip in San Francisco, California. Post-conference, my great (truly great) aunt and I visited the de Young Art Museum, located in the beautiful Golden Gate Park. Among the grand landscape paintings of the Hudosn River School hangs a small painting, nearly dwarfed by the surrounding paintings' sheer breadth of canvas. Frederic Edwin Church swirled sunset hues into the shape of a tattered American flag, with the starry night sky suggesting the flag's own starry canton. Rather uncharacteristically, I actually appreciated its sweet sentimentality, and then was about to move on when I spotted the year in which Church painted "Our Banner in the Sky": 1861, the dawn of the Civil War.

So, speaking of Walt Whitman and the Civil War...

A couple of weeks ago saw the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. And only yesterday, I finished reading Edith Wharton's novella "The Spark," centering on the effect that Walt Whitman's fictional friendship had on a young, uneducated Civil War soldier's morale fiber, in turn affecting the remainder of his life. The young soldier, now old by the end of the novella, simply knew Whitman as the "big backwoodsman" who visited him in the army hospital, and neither remembered Whitman's name nor knew of his poetry. In fact, the last lines of the novella reveal the old veteran's surprise at hearing Whitman's poetry for the first time:

"He was a great chap, I'll never forget him. --I rather wish, though," he added, in his mildest tone of reproach, "you hadn't told me that he had wrote all that rubbish."

The Spark

Edith Wharton

I love Walt Whitman's poetry. I love its freedom and intuitiveness, its merging of beautiful, melodic rhythms with unfettered honesty. And yet, it held no interest for the soldier, since to him, it fell short of the real-life, straightforward conversations he had valued. It seemed frivolous to him, a betrayal of Whitman's grittiness and humanity.

A little of this reminds me of my father, or "Papa," as I always have called him. A brilliant, self-made man who gathers up knowledge like I hoard art supplies, his library is full of historical biographies, studies of World War II and the Civil War, and works on the American West. It does not surprise me that he, a man of exceptional character, would surround himself with the biographies of historical figures with larger-than-life personalities and strengths so equal to his own. I am sure that Papa is too humble to realize this, and would honestly insist that he reads for knowledge, adventure, and understanding.

I have never seen him read a single work of fiction.

When I bring up my love of fiction for its insight into human character, this is generally how the conversation goes:

Me: "You love reading so much, you really ought to try fiction."

Papa: "I'm not into books about unicorns and vampires."

Me: "That's fantasy."

Papa: "Fiction and fantasy are the same thing...."

Me: "Agh, no! No no no no no!

Papa: ".... and I want to read about real life."

Me: "Anatomy of a Murder, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Help are all strongly based on real life, but the authors created them as fiction in order to weave a specific and powerful message with carefully-crafted details. It's not 100% made up, just altered with a purpose."

Papa: "Well, non-fiction isn't altered at all."

Me: "But non-fiction is mainly just facts, while fiction lets you learn more about human character and even more about yourself."

Papa: "I've only read one work of fiction in my life. I had to do a school report on Dracula. It was horrible. I am never reading fiction again."

Me: "Dracula's awesome! I mean, yeah, it's horrible, horrible."

The Darlings and the Duds: GipsieGirl's Cinema Screed

2014-09-18T10:05:00.001-04:00

The awesome, the awkward, the epic, and the appalling: all seared into my memory for good or for bad. And yes, screed is a real word. Look it up.

12 Angry Men (1957): A cast of great dramatic actors, including Henry Fonda and a young Jack Klugman, portray a jury's struggle over the fate of a young teenager accused of murdering his father. Evocative of a stage play, virtually the entire film takes place in the juror's room, resulting in an intense film that focuses on human nature, ulterior motives, prejudice, and dangerous preconceptions.
Verdict: Darling

The Big Country (1958): Sweeping landscapes and intriguing characters surround the story of an seasoned Baltimore sea captain (Gregory Peck) whose unflappable poise and peaceful ideals brush his new neighbors in the American West a little bit the wrong way. By the way, I practically grew up on The Rifleman reruns, so seeing the gorgeous Chuck Connors as the villain really shook me.
Verdict: Darling

Citizen Kane (1941). Often called the greatest film ever made, I have tried twice - count that, twice - to watch it, and both times couldn't make it to the end. Aside from its truly breakthrough cinematography, it's just boring. (Please don't hurt me.)
Verdict: Dud

Clear and Present Danger (1994): With suspense, action, political intrigue, and espionage, the film centers on one of my favorite themes: appearance versus reality. It features my favorite actor, Harrison Ford, plus it is worth watching just to see Darth Vader and Han Solo together again. My only complaint is the film's claim that Panamanian food is the same as Mexican food. If I ever said that, my abuelita would hit me over the head with a plátano.
Verdict: Darling

The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Must I really explain why this is awesome? Fine. Imaginative, epic, never a dull moment, and visually striking, especially considering the limitations in special effects at the time. It is everything that the new prequels aren't. Oh yeah, I went there.
Verdict: Darling

First Wives Club (1996): A few funny moments crushed by crassness and tedium. Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler are just too talented for this film's unimaginative writing and shallow intelligence. It made me want to run screaming back to my collection of great classic films.
Verdict: Dud

The Fugitive (1993): Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones give great performances (surprise, surprise) in a well-written story full of suspense and adventure. Despite the modern setting, I also recommend the film for its surprising similarities to what 19th-century heroes went through on the Underground Railroad.

Compared to fugitive slaves, Richard had it super super easy, but the similarities are still there. The hounds, the freezing water, the danger of looking up just at the sound of your name, the dumb luck, the improvisations and disguises, and the man who's a fugitive for no fault of his own.
Verdict: Darling

Gaslight (1944). A sweet young woman marries the suave Frenchman who has swept her off her feet. What could possibly go wrong? Don't gaslights always flicker inexplicably in old houses? It also features a seventeen-year-old Angela Lansbury (wearing padding to make her slight frame more wench-ish) in a role as distinctly snarky maid. Oh yeah, and the suave leading man, Charles Boyer, was the inspiration for Looney Tune's Pepe Le Pew.
Verdict: Darling

The Haunted Mansion (2003): The opening montage of this film, portraying tragic events at a gilded, lavish ball, is the best part of the film. It set me up to expect a film more along the lines of Phantom of the Opera, and then gave me Scooby Doo. Well, Scooby Doo without the dog... or the laughs... or anything interesting at all, for that matter. Excuse me while I block this all out of my memory. My childhood memories of the Haunted Mansion ride deserve better.
Verdict: Dud.

The High and the Mighty (1954). This film started the whole craze for disaster films,* but I love its witty, gripping story. It should be the feature film on every long flight, I think that would be just lovely.
Verdict: Darling

A Holiday Affair (1949). One of my favorite Christmas movies - a sweet romantic comedy involving an unpredictable freewheeler who meets a young war widow and her little boy. Woven into the lighthearted comedy is a dark reminder of the recent World War II through the widow's inability to move on from her husband's death.
Verdict: Darling

Hugo (2011): This work of art by Martin Scorsese has gorgeous visuals, excellent acting, and a beautiful soundtrack, plus a wonderful homage to silent film and the dangers of losing these treasures without preservation. A great watch for steampunk fans, classic film buffs, and art lovers everywhere.
Verdict: Darling

The Hunt for Red October (1990): A gripping Cold War thriller. The best part: Sean Connery keeps his sexy Scottish accent even as a Russian sea captain. The sad part: Harrison Ford had not yet taken on the role of Jack Ryan.
Verdict: Darling

It Happened One Night (1934). The story of a worldly reporter pursuing a runaway heiress for the story that could regain his job provides the backdrop for a timeless comedy. It also serves as an interesting time capsule, with vintage cars, Colbert's boyish bob, and striking black and white cinematography showing an era long gone. Yet Clark Gable, my dear, is always in style.
Verdict: Darling

It's a Wonderful Life (1946). A film I'm supposed to like. Great cast, and I usually love Frank Capra films, but in this case... ugh. It's cheesy and overly saccharine, and since I was force-fed it every Christmas of my childhood I know every stinkin' line by heart.
Verdict: Dud

The Kid (1921): Charlie Chaplin's tale of a Little Vagabond and the tiny orphan he adopts is full of fun, slapstick, surprises, and tragedy. Proof that a silent film can be just as entertaining and poignant as any of those newfangled talkies.
Verdict: Darling

Ladyhawke (1985): A medieval tale filmed on gorgeous locations in Italy, and featuring a magnificent Friesian war horse. Just don't judge the anachronistic '80s music, it's a sign of the times.
Verdict: Darling

Left Behind (2000): Having read the book of Revelations, I found this film to have a total lack of imagination. The apocalyptic, otherworldly descriptions in the book of Revelations have so much potential for epic action and fantastic special effects, but all I remember was one lousy car explosion. If you can't do it well, just don't do it at all.
Verdict: Dud

Macau (1952): Witty dialogue and effortless comedy make this light-hearted film noir a keeper. The film stars Robert Mitchum as a rudderless expat and Jane Russell as a tough nightclub singer, as well as one of my favorite supporting actresses, Gloria Graham.
Verdict: Darling

Maverick (1994): A fun, light-hearted Western with refreshing humor, a well-paced story, great costumes, and settings that really make me miss what I've seen of the West. I love how it features a stunt inspired by Yakima Canutt's breakthrough stunt on Stagecoach (1939), which also inspired a famous stunt in Raiders. And going back to settings, the film includes a gorgeous riverboat. Sigh. I want one.
Verdict: Darling

The Monster that Challenged the World (1957). Bad, just bad. The good guy fights off the giant mutated mollusk in a chemistry lab by throwing little test tubes and beakers, all while an emergency axe hangs unused on the wall. It's that sorta intelligent film making the whole way through.
Verdict: Dud

On the Waterfront (1954). A young and very handsome Marlon Brando plays a longshoreman entwined in a corrupt and brutal union led by tough guy Lee J. Cobb. Brando won an Oscar for his performance, as did Eva Marie Saint as the sister of one of the men murdered by the union. Academy-award winning actor Karl Malden portrays the gritty Father Berry. My all-time favorite movie ever.
Verdict: Darling

North by Northwest (1959): Cary Grant (be still my heart) and Eva Marie Saint exude smart fashion sense in this thriller featuring mistaken identity, espionage, a rather spontaneous road trip, and a scene that will send you into a panic anytime you seen a small, low-flying plane. Or a corn field. Or a dirt road. Thanks a lot, Hitchcock. By the way, James Mason, with his beautifully cultured, sardonic voice, plays a delightful villain.
Verdict: Darling

Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Miles to Earth): Turns out we're the product of genetic mutations of super apes masterminded by the Martians... who resemble gigantic grasshoppers... who control our brainwaves. Help, help, is there a writer in the house?
Verdict: Dud

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) A tip of the hat to 1940s and 50s adventure films, Raiders is one of my all time favorites, with its exotic locales, classic bad guys, archaeological themes, and John Williams score. No matter how dangerous that Cairo Street market is, it's still one of my favorite film settings with the exotic clothing,
Though I admit I still hide behind my hands when the bad guys open the Ark. Eww. They more than had it coming but, eww.
Verdict: Darling

The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). An exotic dish heavily seasoned with deliberate camp, Christopher Plummer's charm, and Peter Sellers' brilliant insanity.
Verdict: Darling

Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). Acclaimed British actor Charles Laughton portrays a veddy, veddy propah butler who, due to his employer's losing hand in a poker game, ends up working for some quite improper roughs in the American West. I loved stumbling across this forgotten comedy, which is both funny and fresh for all its years.
Verdict: Darling

The Runaway (1962): This beautiful film is all but forgotten as well. In this tale of a young urchin who runs away with his only friend at the time, a stray mutt, Cesar Romero's endearing performance as the priest he encounters makes this a real gem. Rather than detracting, the small (yet strong) cast and small budget give this film a sweet simplicity that compliments the heartfelt storytelling.
Verdict: Darling

Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956): This unforgettably powerful film stars Paul Newman as lovable tough guy and rising boxing champ Rocky Graziano. The beautiful Pier Angeli stars as his shy, resilient sweetheart. Hmm... this sounds familiar... Wait, you all thought Rocky was original? Aw, how cute.
Note: Look for Steve McQueen in his first film role one of Rocky's shadier friends.
Verdict: Darling

Star Wars (1977): Perhaps one of the reasons I love the film is because it's basically western meets sci-fi. Small-town boy meets eccentric old hermit, bad guy in black acts like he owns the territory, bad guy's goons burn a remote farm but pin it on the local indigenous tribe, boy and hermit meet hot-headed gunslinger, who meets snobby city girl...
Verdict: Darling

The Third Man (1949): Unlike Citizen Kane, here is an Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten film I can get my teeth into! Strikingly filmed on location in the post World War II ruins of Vienna, the film reeks of mystery, suspense, and quite a few twists and turns.
Verdict: Darling

The Ten Commandments (1956). When I was a child, I wanted to look just like the glamorous Nefirtiri - the sultry eyeshadow, the ethereal gowns - so sublime, though perhaps not the best role model out there. Yet, like the Ancient Egyptians used to say, c'est la vie. While not exactly historically or archaeologically accurate, the film is a tribute to Cecil B. De Mille's incredible talent for the epic film. And neither Charlton Heston nor Yul Brenner are hard on the eyes in this film.
Verdict: Darling

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)" Produced as a collaboration between American and Japanese filmmakers, this critically acclaimed film depicts the events surrounding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The portrayals of the men on both sides are powerful, human, and riveting.
Verdict: Darling (if you can call a war movie that)

*As a rule, I do not like disaster films at all, since they tend to make a spectacle of human suffering. However, the High and the Mighty is more a story of humanity, courage, cowardice, and, well, all-around gumption.

Favorite First Line.... EVER

2014-07-28T19:00:00.000-04:00

“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream."

Cannery Row (1945)
John Steinbeck

Featured Quote: The House Haunted

2014-05-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

"The room itself might have been full of secrets. They seemed to be piling themselves up, as evening fell, like the layers and layers of velvet shadow dropping from the low ceiling, the rows of books, the smoke-blurred sculpture of the hearth."

"Afterward" (1909)

Edith Wharton

When Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa Behaved Badly

2014-04-24T16:57:00.003-04:00

The thing about the oral history in my family is that I never know where fact ends and all tales begin. Most of us have always been adept at crafting good stories, with a few embroideries thrown in for emphasis (often without realizing we're doing it). However, you can see oral history as a problem, or if you're like me, you can see it as a psychedelic splash in the already colorful painting that I call family.

Oral history is about all we have when it comes to our family's past. Descended from farmers, ranchers, soldiers, gangster's molls, sheriffs, and moonshiners, the clan survived hardships like the Great Depression by picking up roots, packing light, and going wherever the work took us, whether Iowa, Nebraska, California, Maryland, etc. Coats of arms, family documents, and ancestral tomes have never exactly been a part of the family vault. Nor has a family vault. Now, a varnished wooden Nebraska Cornhuskers clock, a pair of dusty black cowboy boots belonging to my great-grandfather... those are our kinds of heirlooms.

Anyhoo, oral history says we are descended from Robert Frazer, one of the members of the Corps of Discovery a.k.a the Lewis & Clark Expedition. My dad knows way more about this than I do, but I think he was only supposed to accompany the expedition until it was time for the keel boats to turn back. However, Grampa Bob soon won a permanent place with the Corps. Also, he drew a map of the expedition's trek, which can be viewed online through the Library of Congress's website. Our oral history had erroneously told me that both his map and a journal were lost - so seeing it in the LOC's online collections was exciting, once I'd recovered from my heart attack.

Robert Frazer (d. 1837). “A Map of the discoveries of Capt. Lewis & Clark from the Rocky Mountain and the River Lewis to the Cap of Disappointment Or the Columbia River At the North Pacific Ocean By observation of Robert Frazer” 1807. Manuscript map. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, G4126.S12 1807 .F5, 2004626119

What? No it's not Middle Earth, it's America! Yeah, well, historians think it was a bit fanciful too.

Anyway, our oral history was right in that Frazer's journal really was lost, which he had even intended to publish. As the Library of Congress summarizes in its online exhibit "Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America,"

Private Robert Frazer was the first member of the Lewis and Clark party to announce publication of an expedition journal. His account never reached print, and the original journal was lost. This manuscript map is the only remnant of that initial publishing attempt. Since Frazer had little or no knowledge of surveying or natural sciences, the map is a strange piece of cartography. He traces the expedition's route, but continues to depict older views of the Rocky Mountains and western rivers. Sometimes ignored, the Frazer map was one of the first to reveal the course of the journey and some of its geographic findings.

What did this lost journal contain? There have always been rumors among my family members that the journal was not lost, but in fact silenced for some unknown reason.

And it seems Frazer didn't always have the best relationship with the Corps' leaders.

Here is an interesting article from "We Proceeded On," a publication by the Lewis & Clark Heritage Trail Foundation that I found while browsing History Quest: "Frazer's Mutiny" by Arlen J. Large. Wait, Frazer's what? If you scroll down to page 24 of the PDF, you'll see that on January 10, 1806, Clark wrote in his diary that "Frasure behaved very badly, and mutonous" during a trip to view a stranded whale on the Columbia River near Fort Clatsop. However, rather than receiving punishment, Grampa Bob was simply sent back to find a knife he had lost during the trip, and then told to return to the party. (Hmmm... he had a tendency to lose things and to create fanciful drawings - I'm thinking we really are related). If history ever shows that he "behaved very badly" due to an emotional breakdown at the sight of the whale dying on the beach, then I'll know for an absolute fact we're related.

Large's article goes on to quote Lewis & Clark historian Gary Moulton, editor of the University of Nebraska Press's printing of their thirteen-volume set of The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, as saying:

Evidently Clark, perhaps after consultation with Lewis, decided that Frazer's behavior during the difficult and trying trip to and from the whale site was not serious enough to warrant disciplinary action.

A far different response, as Large points out, from the leaders' reaction to John Newman, who was court martialed, sentenced to seventy-five lashes (ouch), and booted from the expedition for "repeated expressions of a highly criminal and mutinous nature."

Apparently, at the end of the day, the hot-headed Robert Frazer was still a valuable member of the Corps. We may never know what his lost journal contained, but the writer in me enjoys imagining some of the possibilities. And, since most of my theories involve Doctor Who showing up to aid in their adventures, I am sure any respected historical journal would jump at publishing them.

Snapshots from Christmas Town 2013

2013-12-25T14:58:00.002-05:00

Visting Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Christmas Town for the first time marked a great way to celebrate the holiday season. The European-themed amusement park transforms into a yuletide world of sparkling lights, festive music, live performances, and dramatic decorations - all of which resulted in the following travelogue of photos and memories.

Christmas Town's shows including Gloria, with powerful vocal performances, and Miracles, a dance-themed musical.

High-powered voices soar in Gloria!

Ballet and modern dance in Miracles

But the real stars of the park were the decorations, with each country sporting a distinctly different style.

Ireland

Killarney boasted golden tinsel swags and green tinsel shamrocks, all interlaced with colored lights. Green and gold are not only Christmas colors but also colors in the Irish flag - clever. I made two stops at Annie's Pub for Christmas Town hot chocolate with whipped cream, delicious and warming.

Reminds me of Galway Bay Irish Pub in Annapolis,
with all the wood paneling and warm ambiance.

The leprechauns have been at work....

France

France's white, cerulean, and blush pink decor evoked the glitzy lives of bygone bourgeoisie and whimsical reflections of Parisian style. I even got a photo with some bizarre looking jesters. And they say American clowns are scary.

This gorgeous, gigantic Christmas tree sends forth thunderous carols from within... and in English, oddly. Fortunately, the rest of the music throughout France is in French, even a lovely rendition Jingle Bells - I mean Vive le Vent. The tree must be a welcoming committee for foreign tourists.

King, Queen, and Court Jesters do their best to frighten tourists in France.

Wine Tasting

The wine tasting at La Belle Maison left me feeling pretty educated. Turns out all of those fancy wine rituals aren't just for snobs, they actually have a purpose! Mind blown. For instance:

Tip a glass of red wine away from you a little and wiggling your fingers behind it. Whether or not you can see them shows how deep the color is. Color, like taste, makes each wine unique.

When you swirl the wine around in your mouth, breathing in through your nose helps you taste even more flavors.

Check out Snooth and Vivino for advice on wine pairings, ratings, etc.

I especially had some things to learn about the temperatures that make wines happiest when served. "Americans," said the sommelier Nora, "serve white wine too cold and red wine too warm. You're supposed to serve red wine at room temperature, but room temperature means a cellar... in a medieval castle... in the dead of winter." So, all I need is a medieval castle and I'm all set.

I am now a fan of rosé, something I have never liked in the past. True French rosé "is neither cheap nor sweet," and is instead considered a delicacy in France. The wine tasting featured Rosé d'Anjou, which had a very elegant taste which, the sommelier explained, paired well with smoked turkey.

Beautiful statue in front of La Belle Maison. This statue disappeared
some time ago from France's town square, so I was happy to see it
had shown up again!

Rose d'Angou in my souvenir Christmas Town wine glass

Sadly, I had never done a wine tasting before, and I thought I would be rude unless I drank everything that was given to me. Ooopsie. Is it just me or is it hot in here?

Of course, no wine tasting is complete without a visit next door to... penguins? These penguins are real celebrities, residing in their own Ice Palace near La Belle Maison. I just wish I could have been on the flight to Williamsburg with them - pretty darn cute if you watch the video:

Germany

Dinner at Das Festhaus included a gluten-free pizza (baked in an oven-safe wrapper that prevented cross-contamination with gluten, unfortunately a must for anyone with life-threatening celiac disease like me - Busch Gardens is awesome). The always-festive Das Festhaus was even more bedecked than usual, with stunning chandeliers that reminded me of the Austrian chandelier in the Opera House in the Kennedy Center.

Later, we browsed shops boasting German-made wares ranging from beer steins and nutcrackers to carved hunting horns and cuckoo clocks. Since they were made in Germany rather than China, I could not afford them, but could afford to gawk!

French Canada

Passing through France again we meandered in French Canada, where the Yankee Candle Carver was hard at work as usual and Caribou Pottery was decked out for a woodsy Christmas. Most of the fauna were indoors, with the exception of a beautiful Cooper's Hawk whose keeper was rushing him inside before the afternoon chill set in.

Hand-dyed and handmade mushroom candles

A gentle, mellow Cooper's Hawk - gorgeous

I was dying to paint something at Caribou Pottery, but it takes a couple hours and the day was going by fast. We decided that next time we will have to take two days for Christmas Town.

Italy

Voyaging from French Canada into Italy unveils a vintage Christmas theme, replete with oversized mutli colored lights, giant clowing Santa heads (eeek!) and retro holiday-themed bill boards. Dean Martin replaces ancient Roma, and apparently his tradmark drinks abounded as well, as evident in the behavior of a gentleman who rushed up to me and enthused about how AWESOME!!! my outfit was. Attired in a curly brown scarf, my favorite winter hat (a huge furry ushanka), and a camel-colored winter coat, I thought I looked more like a terrifying squirrel, but to each his own.

Italy was one of my favorite sections in Christmas Town, being a vintage girl myself. My mother felt herself yanked back into her childhood memories of 1950s and 60s Christmases, but the panic in her eyes soon changed to enjoyment... I hope.

By now solidly nighttime, we boarded the train skirting around the perimeter of the park. I got yelled at by the conductor for leaning out of the train to get this shot. Whenever I see potential for a good photo all common sense goes out the window. Whoops.

By foot, the lights were spectacular as well, since you became immersed in the visual festivities on all sides. Such as:

...the smashed-up car at Verbolten, which joined in the holiday festivities...

...the clock tower in Banbury Cross...

...and Escape from Pompeii, now the Polar Pathway...

...and the O Tanenbaum light show in Oktoberfest...

The Nomad Soul's Guide to Christmas Gifts

2013-12-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas gift ideas for wanderers, adventurers, vagabonds, and dreamers....

Some of these hail from my own personal gallimaufries (a word everyone should use at least once), and while a few are feminine, many will please both ladies and gents.

Compass Glass Magnets from Paper Source

Scrimshaw Whale Box, National Geographic

Global Collection: Africa by 7Gypsies
Great for scrapbooking or framing.

"Not all who wander are lost." Necklace by UnderGlass, Etsy.

Paperblanks Handtooled Lined Journal, Paper Source

Marlyn Schiff Vintage Button Earrings from Lilac Bijoux

Longitude by Dava Sobel

A polkadot teepee of cotton canvas for the tiny nomad in your life

"The Wild Geese," handmade at Wild Goose Studio in Knocknabohilly, Ireland

ICE! at the Gaylord National

2013-12-04T20:04:00.000-05:00

My first visit to the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord National sure didn't disappoint. Like the Gaylord in Kissimmee in Florida, the Washington D.C. version at the National Harbor sports a gigantic glass-enclosed atrium, just minus the alligators grinning at ~~meals~~ tourists from the transplanted bayou.

Instead, this Gaylord went for more of a classic stroll-in-the-park theme with cafes, restaurants, and shops peeking from amidst the dense trees and glowing street lights. However, the real star of the Gaylord was the view from the mammoth windows overlooking the magnificent Potomac River.

Suspended Christmas Tree in the 18-story glass atrium of the Gaylord National.
The massive windows overlook the glittering lights of the National Harbor.

A veritable city of rooms surround the bedecked atrium.

Hidden in gigantic tents outside the hotel, ICE! is a clever mixture of traditional, clear-as-crystal ice sculptures and vividly colored sculptures of bright cerulean, lemon yellow (at least I hope it's lemon), and geranium red evoking scenes from "The Night Before Christmas," followed by a finale of "Christmas in New York."

Entrance to ICE! The letters appeared to be fiberglass, but everything else
was pure ice, from the bright yellow background to the brick walls
and whimsical swirls.

An icy arch seems to be made from enormous candy and sugar-spun bricks

Delicate crystalline dove adds a sweet contrast to the vivid and mod surroundings.

The temperature remained at about nine degrees, so my friend and I had bundled up in enough layers to give Randy from A Christmas Story a run for his money.

On top of this, the staff at the Gaylord gave us each an oversized, hooded, calf-length parka of which any Arctic explorer would approve. The parka also acted as a sort of built-in sled when we reached the ice slides near the end of the tour. "Lift your feet up!" called the attendant at the bottom of the slide as I began sliding down in a seated position. A suggestion which, if followed, will tilt the unsuspecting victim on their back so that the slippery parka turns into an Olympic-speed toboggan.

Most ungraceful, but I felt like a little kid all over again. Sadly, I was too busy laughing hysterically to get a picture of my friend sliding down after me.

Solid ice comprises the Christmas tree, the presents, and the huge
slides on either side of the room. Only the tinsel-y tree trimmings were non-ice.

Yeah, yeah, I know my photo's crooked and shaky. But I kept having to take my hand out of my glove to snap photos and by this time I couldn't even feel my fingers.

Santa and sugarplums then gave way to a trip into New York City on a wintry night, where even the Statue of Liberty has joined the festivities by donning a red suit and hat. Again, great subject, rotten photo. My poor frozen fingers. I finally broke down and whipped out the HotHands hand warmers.

Santa of Liberty

Check this out: "Phantom of the N. Pole" and a poster that looks like a Galapagos penguin photobombing Les Miz. Technically not made from ice, but I don't think I could have resisted doing this, either.

Broadway Signs

At the end of the walk-through, we came upon a larger-than-life nativity with incredible detail and delicacy. My flash revealed the intense chilliness in the air, which they pumped in from overhead to maintain the 9 degree temperature, the sadists.

Nativity of ice. The matte ice creating the ground contrasted with
the shiny figures. Methinks this art form takes a tiny bit of skill...

Awwww....

As we shuffled out the mega-tent's door and into the night air to head back into the Gaylord, we both stopped and exclaimed, "Wow, it's hot out here!" It was 40 degrees.

I will never again complain about cold winters. We survived nine degrees all for the sake of festivity and art! I think some hot chocolate is in order. Spiked.

Or maybe I'll just steal some treats from Santa's plate.

Vaudeville comes to Virginia

2013-11-15T00:06:00.000-05:00

This week, I visited the famous metropolis of... drum roll... Dumfries, Virginia! (Yeah, I had never heard of it either.) From my brief visit there, I can attest that the town abounds in sweet, hospitable people and confusing thoroughfares. I had made the trek in order see one of my favorite comedians, Taylor Mason, before his national tour took him to lands far away. A ventriloquist and musician, his talent for improvisation shows in this video I managed to covertly shoot during the performance. The only problem was that I kept shaking the camera from laughing so hard.

I cannot help but think of old Vaudeville when I see him perform, for Mason belongs in the comedic family tree of classic performers like Red Skelton and Groucho Marx, rather that of the over-rated potty-mouths so common nowadays. What a gem.

Featured Quote: Ray Bradbury

2013-10-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

The library deeps lay waiting for them.

Out in the world, not much happened. But here in the special night, a land bricked with paper and leather, anything might happen, always did. Listen! and you heard ten thousand people screaming so high only dogs feathered their ears. A million folk ran toting cannons, sharpening guillotines; Chinese, four abreast, marched on forever. Invisible, silent, yes, but Jim and Will had the gift of ears and noses as well as the gift of tongues. This was a factory of spices from far countries. Here alien deserts slumbered. Up front was the desk where the nice old lady, Miss Watriss, purple-stamped your books, but down off away were Tibet and Antarctica, the Congo. There went Miss Wills, the other librarian, through Outer Mongolia, calmly toting fragments of Peiping and Yokohama and the Celebes.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)

Ray Bradbury

Featured Quote: Sherlock Holmes

2013-10-11T10:29:00.000-04:00

As we watched it the fog-wreaths came crawling round both corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank on which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship upon a shadowy sea.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Return to the Brandywine Valley

2013-09-13T08:16:00.000-04:00

The Brandywine Valley remains one of my favorite stomping grounds due to its horticultural and architectural offerings as well as the sheer deliciousness of its name.

Hagley Mills

Though long in love with the luscious Brandywine estates and gardens of Winterthur and Longwood (where I would like to believe I lived during a previous life as a petunia), my visit to the former gunpowder works at Hagley Mill offered a foray into a new sphere of surprises. I had naïvely imagined a single mill house - boy were my expectations topped. Gardener turned gunpowder guru Eleuthère Irénée du Pont founded Hagley after narrowly escaping the Hungry Lady, and I don't mean his wife. Though Monsieur du Pont arrived in the U.S. of A. with the fluttering hopes of tending gentle orchids and peaceful topiaries, he soon observed the unreliability of American gunpowder, something he knew he could improve through European techniques.

That, at least, is the conventional story. I believe the poor man got so fed up with stupid Américains tumbling over his name that he just started blowing stuff up.

Located along the arboraceous Brandywine River, Hagley provided the perfect location for manufacturing gunpowder for the military during the War of 1812 and to the Union during the Civil War. If Monsieur du Pont's last name sounds familiar, it's for good reason, since his company's innovations in gunpowder were the first in a long line of innovations in many areas.

The First Office

Many of the buildings on the property are built from Brandywine's blue gneiss - a strong rock that could withstand massive explosions.

Workers' homes of Blue Gneiss Stone

Eleutherian Mills, the du Pont family home, whose backyard
looks directly over the gunpowder works.

The mill is closed in 1921 following the last of a long line of explosions. Now quiet and serene, the site offers a peaceful, otherworldly retreat of Herculean trees, thriving animal denizens such as Canada geese, deer, and beavers, and the bygone beauty of old mills.

Beautiful Gnarls: 350-year-old Osage Orange Tree near Eleutherian Mills

Interspersed with the backdrop of nature's quiet beauty, a plethora of antique equipment, massive gears, and rusty machinery rumbled melodically or lay quietly embedded in the ground. There is something stunning about industrial mixing with nature, as nature is begins reclaim her domain. The innate aesthetic in the circles, repetition, and symmetry of cogs, rivets, and gears provide a a striking contrast with the wildness and vivid colors of nature.

Ancient Egypt and the Little Girl

2013-08-17T23:28:00.003-04:00

Sitting in the tranquil dimness of my room, listening to the abrupt cicadas and breathing in the soft end-of-summer air, I find myself thinking of my childhood in California. I so often long to return there, but is it a longing for California itself or for the nostalgia of childhood? I think of Monterey Bay’s black lava-like rocks and bobbing otters, the aquarium's colossal, plate-glass room, opening like a giant foyer to the sea’s own mysterious mansion of living rock and giant kelp colonnades; the fog fading into the morning warmth in the old streets and quaint houses at Carmel; Junipero Serra’s sunset-colored missions surrounded by flowering bushes shaking in the breeze; the fantastical double-decker carousel at the Great America amusement park in my hometown, San Jose; the warm, cerulean water at the vibrant beaches where seals bellow to each other and cover the rocks and piers like fat, whiskered sunbathers.

And I think of the Museum.

When I was child, I wanted to be either an archaeologist or a paleontologist. I lost interest in paleontology when I realized that you spend most of your time digging very very slowly, not popping already-assembled Tyrannosaur skeletons from the ground every other day. But my interest in archaeology stayed strong despite my phobic terror of mummies. Mummies be darned, I love Ancient Egypt. I don’t remember when my infatuation started, except that I have a vivid memory of being about seven years old and standing in the Rosicrucian Museum in town and gawking in awe at a section of painted tomb wall from a pyramid’s interior. Sheltered from the fading effects of light for thousands of years, the paints had retained the vivid deep blues in the midnight skies and the rich golds and scarlets on the figures and accents. Looking back, I now realize that they were probably replicas, but the effect on me was the same: I suddenly understood that ancient artists didn’t actually paint in faded colors - their art was as colorful as many of the paintings we create today. How much, I wondered, of ancient life itself was like this - archaic and outdated today, but vibrant and real in its own time? In fact (I thought to myself with a dawning amazement) the people of the ancient world didn’t think of themselves as ancient, but as modern. I wondered what museums they visited when they were alive, and if they were busy swatting flies on hot days just like me.

For a long time after that visit, I dreamed at night of sneaking back there, past the museum’s alarm system and back into that room of sapphires, golds, and burnt umber. Who knew what really happened when everyone turned off the 20th-century light bulbs and left that room alone with just the darkness and cricket songs?

Featured Quote: Autumn

2013-08-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

The morning sunshine poured into the library through ten long narrow windows; birds were singing; the autumn air, rich with a faint aroma of November melancholy that stung the imagination pleasantly, filled my antechamber.

The Damned, Algernon Blackwood

Autumn nears us slowly, and though it is only August, the refreshing crispness of the last few days inspires me to post this quote from Blackwood, who brought beauty even to the most ghostly stories.

Whispers from Antiquity

2013-08-02T12:36:00.002-04:00

The Maryland State Archives recently tweeted the following:

Dowsett Collection of Sands Family Papers now online: glimpses of #historic #Annapolis family. http://t.co/VruPHad8WV pic.twitter.com/HPZHb8OsjT
— MD State Archives (@MdArchives) July 31, 2013

It's quite a unique collection, thanks to the diverse letters, posters, and memorabilia that the Sands family of Annapolis left behind. Here are some of my favorite images, pulled from the Archives' online e-publication:

Original invitation to Inaugural Ball for President James Buchanan

"N. Hess' Sons Fine Shoes." If they are as cool as the envelope's graphics, then they must be fine indeed.

I love this stationary from an 1892 letter - it reminds me of Hummel figurines.

Maryland State Fireman's Association. The program features an old-fashioned
horse-drawn fire engine.

Program for Company E, 2nd Regiment of the American Guard, 1896

Tolchester Beach Excursions. I'm in!

Poster: "Southern Rights: Let us Alone!" Great graphics. Eternal issue.

Child's drawing on the back of a letter

Leaf rubbings: beautiful.

Without protection and preservation, our collective memory of our
past slowly disappears. Plus, if a document is one of those rare
records of the life of someone who was lower class, enslaved, or
indentured, it can mean losing the last written trace of them.

Art Project

2013-07-20T17:22:00.001-04:00

For the past couple of years, my far-away cousin and I have been trading art projects. So fun! Until today, I was sending the project ideas by email with attachments, but sharing by blog will be even easier, and I won't have to limit my attachments! So, here it is, sweetie:

Freestyle watercolor

Supplies
You can get all of these supplies at Michaels, and most craft stores. I'll tell you what I use in case you're curious, but I'd recommend buying whatever's on sale. :) A good online art supplies store is Cheap Joe's Art Stuff.

Plastic watercolor palette
Watercolor paints (I like Winsor & Newton's Cotman watercolors from Michaels, but any will do. You can also get packs of watercolor paints, which are great)
Big watercolor brush
Bowl for water. I just use a recycled plastic tub from yogurt or cottage cheese!
Ruler
Watercolor paper. I use Aquarelle Arches from France, but Strathmore's really good too, and less expensive.
Board to tape the paper to (watercolor paper will start buckling when wet, so you need to tape it down). Sometimes I just tape it to the cardboard back of my watercolor pad if it's sturdy enough, but they also sell boards made for artists.
Masking tape

Prep

Get a medium sized piece of watercolor paper. If you only have large paper, just cut it in half using a ruler and scissors.

Draw a half-inch border around the paper, like the photo below. That way, instead of painting to the edge of your paper, you'll stop around this border, so that you won't lose your painting if you decide to frame it.

Next, use four pieces of masking tape to tape the paper's sides to the board:

Okay, now just fill up your water bowl, grab you watercolor palette, paints, and big watercolor brush, and you're set! I usually cover my table with a vinyl tablecloth for when I spill water and paint.

Here is my watercolor palette - it's a mess, and I love it that way. The result of years and years of use.

Now, use your big brush to slop water all over your watercolor paper, covering every inch within that border you drew.

Next, rub your wet brush on a paint color that you really like. I picked Cerulean Blue, which is a sky blue. Now, dab the brush in a few places on your paper. You're not going to cover the paper in one color, since we'll be adding a lot of different colors to see how they spread and what shapes they make.

With each new color you add, be sure to smoosh your brush around in the water bowl to get rid of the paint from the last color (unless you actually want to blend the two together).

Here's what I ended up doing. I had absolutely no plan, just kept adding colors I liked in different areas. I'll tell you what colors I used, in case there are some you really like that you want to get.

Cerulean Blue (a light, sky blue)

Black* and Naples Yellow (a pale yellow). Look at how the paint is spreading and merging.

Opera (deep pink)

Burnt Umber (brown)

Cobalt Blue (deep blue)

The paint is already doing neat things! The pink and blue look like a waterfall as paint spreads on the wet paper...

And in a place where a drop of clear water fell from my brush on the paper, it looks like a firework or sea urchin.

I'm still adding paint, more of the black, yellow, and brown, plus a few dots of red (Scarlet Lake) on the pink. Again, no plan, just having fun!

All of a sudden I had the urge to add tons of red, having no clue if it would look good or not. One thing's for sure - very fun!

Here is the end result, after it was all dry (You can use a blow drier to hurry it up, by the way.) You never know what watercolor's going to do when it dries. It can look totally different than it did when wet!

Wow, so different!

You can even see the sharp edges on the top and bottom where I accidentally missed when wetting the paper. Cool!

When I'm planning a painting, I usually decide on a few colors I want to feature. But in this case, the idea is to just have fun and use whatever colors strike you. This painting actually looks a lot like my palette - a joyful mess. :)

That long, diagonal splotch in the middle is where water pooled. Usually I get the edge of a paper towel and soak it up, but I wanted to see what would happen. Kind of looks like a solar system.

Our next project will be similar, but we're going to add even more imagination to it. Have fun giving this a try! This should help you learn more about how watercolors act, which is interesting and always surprising.

*I made black by blending blue and brown, specifically Cobalt Blue and Burnt Umber from my Windsor Newton watercolors.

Featured Quote: The Crushing Comeback, Hamlet Style

2013-07-17T16:58:00.000-04:00

Hamlet: ...Will you play upon this pipe?

Guildenstern: My lord, I cannot.

Hamlet: I pray you.

Guildenstern: Believe me, I cannot.

Hamlet: I do beseech you.

Guildenstern: I know no touch of it, my lord.

Hamlet: It is as easy as lying. Govern these ventages with our fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth, and it will discourse most eloquent music. Look you, these are the stops.

Guildenstern: But these cannot I command to any utterance of harmony. I have not the skill.

Hamlet: Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You would play upon me, you would seem to know my stops, you would pluck out the heart of my mystery, you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass, and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.

― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Outdoor Concert Chronicles

2013-07-13T23:54:00.000-04:00

Pink Martini at Wolf Trap

Oh, where to start... Pink Martini is one of my favorite bands ever. Wolf Trap is my favorite outdoor venue. So, Pink Martini + Wolf Trap = Yay!

Ridiculously talented, the group blends sultry world sounds with the nostalgic styles of the 1940s and 50s. Their lead singer, China Forbes, recently returned from successful vocal chord surgery, so it was a huge treat seeing her perform on July 1st.

I would have died for either of the dresses she wore for the concert. The first was a sweeping cherry-colored high-low gown which she wore with a sparkling bib-style necklace. The second, following intermission, was a black one-shoulder gown with embellishment at the shoulder and a side leg slit. I totally agree with my friend Maya, who turned to me and sobbed "I. Want. That. Dress!"

BSO at Oregon Ridge, Star Spangled Spectacular

This was both my first time visiting Oregon Ridge Park and my first time hearing the fabulous Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Our group wisely commandeered a picnic bench in the shade near the top of the hill, and covered it in a spread including chips, salsa-cream cheese chutney, avocado-yogurt dip, Chardonnay, pink lemonade, and gluten-free Trader Joe's cookies. A refreshing setup while we waited for the sun to set. By the time the fireflies came out, we were enjoying a cool, relaxing evening.

Emerging opera soprano Katie von Kooten presented patriotic songs from various eras, including selections from vaudeville & Broadway composer George M. Cohan (love him - he wrote "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandee" and "You're a Grand Ol' Flag"). She also performed modern Broadway favorites like "I Dreamed a Dream" from Le Miz and "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. Being a bit misty-eyed over the Le Miz rendition, I didn't have the presence of mind to film it, but did catch most of the Phantom pick. Lovely, rich voice:

The program ended with a nostalgic fireworks display. We endured a long wait leaving the parking lot - tons of cars (shudder)! But well worth it, honestly.

Scythian at the Annapolis Irish Festival

My favorite local (more or less) band, Scythian is a DC-based group with a celtic-gypsy-world-americana sound. It all makes sense when you hear their distinct, infectious sound. The Annapolis Irish Festival, now in its third year, was crowded to the point that people had arrived early and set up tents in front of the main stage. Great to see it's taking off, but a challenge to find a place to stand without getting in people's way. We ended up standing a bit off to the side and shading ourselves from the sun with my rainbow-colored umbrella, which at least has some green in it. I may want to invest in an old-fashioned parasol next time. Every girl needs one, just sayin'.

It was hot, about 85 degrees, and the humidity made it feel about ten degrees hotter. But I wouldn't have missed Scythian for the world, even for a cold, refreshing mimosa. Especially since I'd already had one this morning. Anyway....

Scythian drew from a variety of their repertoire, including some of my favorites like "Hey Mama Ya," a 'Nawlins style number; "Dance All Night," and - my favorite - "Jack Dempsey." They're always fun and always great at interacting with the crowd.

Sure, Maryland's summers are blistering and humid, but it's worth braving the energy-zapping heat for the outdoor concerts in the area. And now, I'm going to go drink three gallons of iced tea. And maybe pour some of it on my head.

Photo Journal: An Outsider's Insider's Tour of Washington DC

2013-06-10T11:11:00.001-04:00

When I think DC, I think mammoth tusks and the Hope Diamond, the Austrian crystal chandelier at the Kennedy Center's Opera House, the marble pillars of the Lincoln Memorial, and my out-of-town great aunt standing under the two-inch overhang of a hot dog stand during one of those sudden Chesapeake downpours.

But this February, a lovely friend (and DC native) gave my mom and me such a unique experience in the city and its surrounding areas that I realized that I had never really been to DC. Our trek felt like a Travel Channel episode with distinct and personal experiences around each corner, including beautiful Oxon Hill Farm, the Frederick Douglass House, the eclectic & historic Eastern Market, and the delicious Founding Farmers.

Enjoy the photologue!

Oxon Hill Farm

Iconic porch at the farmhouse.

Rural landscape

Drowsy cow.

Pastoral

Collage

Frederick Douglass's house on a hill overlooking DC. A much-coveted location, the famous abolitionist lecturer bought this house while U.S. Grand Marshall and Ambassador to Haiti.

Death mask

Elegant living room. The man had impeccable taste.

Bust of Frederick Douglass

The majority of furnishings in the house are original. My friend, who is a professional researcher on African American history, remembers seeing a photo of Frederick Douglass with this same checker board.

Travelling trunk. Look for the name.

Fabulous landmark: the giant Chair.

DC Rowhouses. Sigh.

Huh?
Actually, this would be perfect for a scavenger hunt: "Green-eyed monster."

Entering the Eastern Market. Open every Sunday.

Bustling flea market + antiques and hand crafts.

Old cash register at one of the stands.
And finally, someone who knows how to hang a horseshoe so the luck doesn't fall out.

Thomas Calomiris & Son's.
And mysterious number 4, as in.... four daughters? Fourth generation? Four calling birds?

Eliza Doolittle...

Functional Decor at Founding Farmers

Tea at Founding Farmers. Love the one-person teapot by ForLife.

Rotisserie chicken & red potatoes. Perfection... and gluten free.

Shrimp and Grits (not gluten-free). My mom loved this dish.

Rotisserie chicken, this time with classic collared greens.

View of the U.S. Capitol.

How to Have a Smashing Crepes Party

2013-06-03T23:46:00.002-04:00

So, in my last post, I had sketched my experiences with fiddling around with crepes - or, as one of my more French-savvy friends pronounces it, "cleps." It turns out that my crepe-frying beginner's luck was put to good use at the party, for which my friend Sarah wisely quadrupled her crepe recipe!

We had already pillaged the local grocery purveyors (Messrs. Safeway, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's) for a variety of sweet and savory toppings:

Strawberries
Raspberries and blackberries
Sliced mango
Strawberry Chobani yogurt
Melted Ghirardelli chocolate
Chocolate chips
Sprinkles
Mango slices
Bananas
Nutella (divine with sliced bananas!)
Gluten-free granola from Trader Joe's
Ham
Goat cheese from Whole Foods
Goat cheese and herb spread
Cava's red pepper and hummus spread

Wow, a lot more sweet than savory. What a horrible problem. :) Interestingly, our guests devoured the strawberries faster than any of the other toppings!

The Crepe Bar

Berries and Chocolate Crepe

The decor for the party was simple but elegant, inspired by Anthropologie's eclectic style and the crisp spring weather. Thanks to Whole Foods' floral department, fresh sprigs of purple-blue snapdragons and tufts of fun green bushy stuff made a nice bouquet for the side table.

Construction Site

Riviera Blue Splash

I stuck small white and blue flowering "mini-bushes," technically Riviera Blue Splash from Homestead Gardens into various small glazed pots and even a large empty lantern, scattered an array of battery-powered votives in an army of miniature lanterns around the dining room, and added a few semi-tarnished silver pieces for extra character. My friend (whom the party was honoring) smuggled back a centerpiece from a wedding she'd attended the day before, and voile! Gardeny-springy-bohemian-decor!

Decor on the Side Table

I deliberately omitted all pink from the decorations, since it was after all a co-ed party. It's not my favorite color, anyway. But at the same time, the guest of honor was a girl (still is), so why not keep it feminine?

Centerpiece and Garland

The mademoiselles

Crepe Expectations

2013-04-29T23:06:00.000-04:00

Tonight, I delved into the art of making crepes for the first time ever, using a recipe from Living Without (dumb, negative-sounding name but great allergy-friendly recipes).

I used the multi-purpose gluten free mix by Bob's Red Mill, one of my favorite GF flour brands (hearty, tasty, fluffy flours and blends). This blend included bean flour, which is always a great addition to mixes due to its silky texture.

Interestingly, the recipe called for grapeseed oil, which I have never used before. It is pretty neutral to the taste, so served well in keeping the thin crepes from sticking to the pan without actually adding an overly oily taste.

I found out that the two tablespoons of batter didn't cut it in my eight-inch pan, so I just eyeballed it. I ended up with crepes that varied in thickness at first, but always stayed at a fairly delicate width and hopefully wouldn't be mistaken for pancakes (that'd be demoralizing!).

Delicious with something as simple as jam, especially since this is a low-effort trial run. I could see partaking in a more topping-diverse crepe engorgement in the future - according to one of my friends, people really can have fun with Nutella, bananas, chocolate, berries, yogurt, you name it. I could eat a hundred of these things!

Travel, by Edna St. Vincent Millay

2013-03-02T09:37:00.003-05:00

I love how this poem captures the wanderlust that calls inexplicably and powerfully to many souls. St. Vincent Millay also evokes the visual beauty of steam engines, a love that I know I inherited from my father.

"Travel"
By Edna St. Vincent Millay

The railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn't a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with friends I make,
And better friends I'll not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
No matter where it's going.

Liking Lebanese Cuisine

2013-02-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

I had my first experience with Middle Eastern food - Lebanese to be exact - this past Thursday with some of my lovely colleagues from work. The privately-owned Lebanese Taverna operates both full-scale restaurants and quick service cafes. Founded by the Abi-Najm family, who escaped from war-torn Lebanon in the 1970s, the place mixes fast service with genuine Middle-Eastern cuisine and an impressive understanding of the gluten free diet. According to the January 2013 issue of the magazine "Gluten Free Living":

The Lebanese Taverna is a Gluten-Free Resources Education and Awareness (GREAT) Kitchen certified by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. It is committed to food preparation free from cross-contamination and has chefs well-versed in how to properly handle food for those with special dietary needs. The restaurant's goal is to "have guests leave with full stomachs, satisfied appetites and the peace of mind that each plate was prepared safely."

I ordered mouzat (a lamb dish with tomato sauce), a side of redskin potatoes, and an appetizer of baba ghannouge with gluten free rice crackers. I learned two things during my dinner at the Lebanese Taverna Cafe in Annapolis. Lesson one: I found that I don't like lamb, partly because the meat has an odd flavor and partly because I nearly broke down in hysterics when I realized I was eating a baby animal. Lesson two: The cafe's flavorful tomato sauce was soooo delicious that I found I couldn't stop eating the dish anyway!

Mouzat: Braised lamb in tomato sauce.

My ultimate favorite was the baba ghannouge. I had previously tried this dip at a totally American chain restaurant and liked it, so I figured it would be even better at a Middle Eastern joint. Boy, was it! A mixture of eggplant, tahini, yogurt, and fresh lemon and garlic, it is absolutely scrumptious.

Clockwise from left: Gluten free rice crackers, baba ghannouge, mouzat (the lamb dish), redskin potatoes.

By the way, whatever the cafe used to season the redskin potatoes - fabulous. I'll have to find out what it is! It had a little kick to it, just spicy enough.

Now that I know that I enjoy Lebanese food, I'll have to try this recipe that I found in "Gluten Free Living," the same issue quoted above. It is for Yogurt & Cucumber Salad:

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried mint flakes, crushed

1 cup cucumber, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

2 cups yogurt

Directions:

Crush garlic and salt in mortar and pestle. Add dried mint to garlic mixture. Mix cucumbers, yogurt and garlic mixture. Do not over mix, which can water down the yogurt by releasing the water in the cucumbers.

Honestly, this sounds a bit strange, but mixing yogurt, eggplant, and citrus together sounds gross too and that's what is in baba ghannouge. Worth a try.

I don't have a mortar and pestle, but I recall seeing some cool ones at Randy and Steve's, the stylish new General Store in downtown Ellicott City. Shopping trip!

Featured Quote: The Hobbit

2013-01-23T17:10:00.001-05:00

"Their feet ruffled among the dead leaves of countless other autumns that drifted over the banks of the path from the deep red carpets of the forest."

The Hobbit (1937)
J.R.R. Tolkein

Above the canal ruins,

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia