Esprit de L'Escalier

Brief respite

Today was frantic, and tomorrow looks to be much of the same. I went for a long walk when I got home, to blow off some steam and to take advantage of it *not* raining. I took some photos, including the polaroids below.

Today was frantic, and tomorrow looks to be much of the same. I went for a long walk when I got home, to blow off some steam and to take advantage of it *not* raining. I took some photos, including the polaroids below.

Twenty-three days and counting

I have two weeks and three days until I leave the country for three weeks to ping pong around Western Europe. I have less than that time to prepare for/finish any number of group projects, homeworks, 20 page papers (only one thankfully), final exams, other detrius that school throws in my path.

I need to start planning what I'm packing. A rough list is sketching itself in my brain, but I need to write it down. I have to pack in a some-what smart way, seeing as I'll be gone long and will be hauling my crap on my back for three weeks. Luckily I don't have to pack the bridesmaid's dress I'm wearing for the wedding in Ireland in week 2 of my trip (thank you bride!). I'm just going to try and pack as minimally as possible, assuming at least once I will hit a laudromat. (I believe the key to this is packing a LOT of changes of underwear.)

I have my first two-ish weeks planned, but have about 4 or 5 days between my Germany school-related program ending and my return flight in London that are wide open. I would like to spend a couple days in London, but am worried about the cost. I am already planning on bothering a friend of a friend who just moved there, because once he slept on my futon, and maybe now he has a futon that can reciprocate. If anyone has any lost-cost solutions, or suggestions of how to spend my time, I'd love to hear them!

I am ready for the adventure and both wish I could play it totally by ear and simultaneously have all of my nights booked in some hostel or another. I plan on taking copious photos to share when I return, but don't be too jealous of me, because have you seen the exchange rates recently? Ouch.

In other news, my awesome friend Eliza is working on the new version of The Electric Company and it got written up in the NYT. I hope it succeeds!

Thanks Mom!

Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for doing such a good job.

NYC snaps

The top two photos are to express my love for Olmsted and Vaux. The bottom is Natasha in Mood Fabrics. She bought herself some fabric to make a summer dress. More photos here.

How homemade granola changed my life

I have read about homemade granola on blogs since I started reading blogs, I think. It was something I was aware of and something I thought, hey, I should really try that sometime. But I didn't. Because I'm lazy. Then I decided to go to grad school full time, and move home for awhile. Since that time I learned that my mother was as obsessed with Epicurious as I was, but she actually cooked from it. (I, on the other hand, would just bookmark recipes and drool at my cubicle at work.)

Then I started reading Molly at Orangette regularly again (more bookmarking of recipes, more drooling) and she had to go and post about her granola again. And I got hooked on Jen of simply breakfast's lovely morning meals, which started including her takes on granola. So I broke down and stocked up on some nuts and got baking. Then my life changed.

My parents and I have fallen in love with this stuff. I just made my fourth batch. We've hardly been without it since I started making it this winter. Mom takes it with milk, Dad with soy milk. I eat it dry for snacks at school and work. My mother and I were just discussing how we don't remember life before it. We don't want to.

This recipe is based on Orangette's riff on Nigella Lawson's recipe. (I also used Little Birds' recipe as inspiration.) What is great about making your own granola is its flexibility. You can make it with whatever nuts or dried fruits you like. I'm giving you the recipe we keep eating. Check out those two recipes above for more ideas or just ad lib in the kitchen.

Dry ingredients (pre-bake):
5 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. light brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger (so key to this recipe!)
1/2 c. flax seeds
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 c. pistachios (chopped)
1 c. almonds (chopped)
1 c. hulled raw sunflower seeds
1 c. sweet coconut

Wet ingredients (pre-bake):
3/4 c. unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. honey
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

After baking:
1 c. dried apricots (chopped)
1 c. raisins

Directions:
Set racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat to 300.

In a large bowl mix all of the pre-bake dry ingredients (combine well!). In a small bowl, mix all the wet ingredients. Add wet to dry. Keep mixing it all combines. (It won't seem like enough wet ingredients, but keep mixing, it is.)

Half the mixture between two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for about 40 minutes. Every 10 minutes, pull out the pans and stir, so that the granola bakes evenly. After 40 minutes, or until your fragrant granola is golden brown, pull out the pans. Stir the granola again before you let it cool. The granola will harden as it cools.

Once it's cool, mix in your dried fruits. (My mother has this giant aluminum bowl that I swear makes my chocolate chip cookies taste better. This is where I mix my granola, too.) Scoop your finished granola into airtight containers (large tupperware, large zip-lock bags). Orangette says it will store in the fridge indefinitely. If it lasts that long.

27 things

I have stolen this idea from Andrea of Hula Seventy, but this is a list of 27 things I would like to do before I turn 28. It was hard coming up with 27 things, and a couple things are already things in the works, which may constitute cheating, but it's good to have a list of things you can cross off. It gives one a sense of accomplishment. Kathleen suggested at some age you start going backwards, so at like 50 you have a list of 49 years, in the hopes that you make it to 100, and would have one item left. I like that idea.

1. Visit my sister.
2. Host a music/cd swap on my blog.
3. Collaborate with a friend on a photo project.
4. Collaborate with a blog friend on a project of some sort.
5. Complete a knitted project.
6. Stop using plastic/paper bags at stores.
7. Read an urban planning/design book for fun.
8. Go camping.
9. Go on a trip with a friend.
10. Visit a place I have never been.
11. Make a blurb book some of my polaroids.
12. Redesign my blog.
13. Sew something.
14. Take more photos of people.
15. Meet another blog friend in person.
16. Do something for my brother.
17. Write more for newcritics.
18. Eat something I might not normally eat.
19. Have a photo shoot with some of my friends.
20. Bake a pie from scratch.
21. Learn to meditate.
22. Go to an OSU football game.
23. Refinish two chairs that I bought last summer.
24. Visit some place in Ohio I've never been.
25. Attend a permaculture seminar.
26. Take a yoga class.
27. Get a job for after I graduate.

Notes on my list: 2, 3, 6 and 10 are already planned (hi Anne-Lise, I can't wait for #3!).
#4, Blue, Jennifer, whoever, anyone interested in cooking up something fun?
#6, I'm looking at you Amanda, let's chat about this.
#11 is stolen from abbytrysagain.
#16 is vague, but there you go.
#22 is a bit of a surprise to me.
#23 has been on my to-do list since last July.
#25 was inspired by my sustainability class last night.
#27 is a little out of scope for this list, since I graduate after my birthday next year, but it's always good to remember that I'll need a real job again soon. Eek.

In case you're yearning to see another list o'me, I was tagged for a meme by Kathleen and Blue. My response is at Kathleen's here.

Happy belated

Sunday was my golden birthday - my age is now the same as my birth date. These photos are of my twin brother and I on our first birthday. My mother was of the "push them out of the nest as soon as they can and they'll learn" ilk. Plus she was exhausted with twins, so on our first birthday she gave us both bowls of mashed potatoes and our own spoons and let us have at it. She figured we'd figure it out and be feeding ourselves in no time. She was right.

I had a great birthday - I think it's my best birthday in recent memory. I went to New York and visited with some great old friends - one who was a supremely excellent hostess. I ate so very well. I walked so very far. I saw a favorite band play, and they were so very rocking. I also got to meet two blog friends who were generous and kind and fun as I thought they'd be. I am so lucky for the friends I have (new and old) - they make my life much better.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed my the kindness I've met through this space (and flickr). I was nervous prior to meeting up with Kathleen - I joked with my friend Natasha that it was like a blind date. But I realize now it's like meeting pen pals. You are already friends, you've just never met in person. Kathleen is just as I thought she'd be, and I wish I hadn't suggested meeting at the MoMA, because we were plagued by crowds and it would have been better if we had just found a spot to chat over tea and cookies or something. It was great meeting her and M.A. Peel. I always feel like I'm tripping over myself to talk - I jump around conversation topics because we have such little time together and I have so much to say!

When I finally got back today I had two packages from another blog friend, Meg. Again, I'm just overwhelmed by the generosity and friendship I have found. Thank you all, new, old and in-between friends. Here's to another great year with new adventures.

More polas and some inspiration

Yesterday turned out to be much longer than normal, and it wasn't as productive as I hoped, so sorry no pola love on Earth Day. The weather has been gorgeous, though. 75-ish, blue skies, puffs of clouds. Busy as I may be, I've fanagled at least a half hour or so of sitting in the sun. Very important recharging happening.

Right now I'm so incredibly bowled over and blown away by Andrea of Hula Seventy. (Actually, I should rephrase that, because she is an almost constant source of inspiration, due to the colors in her photostream and the honesty in her blog, and once she let me interview her for a paper on online self-portraits and women. She is so very cool.) But she just started a project where she is going to photograph one stranger a week for a year. (See her post on it here.) One thing that I love about the internet is how you can use it to push yourself creatively - you're giving yourself an audience (or rather witnesses to your commitments), and I think it helps you push past the boundaries of fear that exist in your head. Andrea seems to do this time and again, and I thank her for it. (She also made a list of 37 things to do before she's 38, and I think I'm going to make a list of 27 things to do before I'm 28. Because I'm a follower and need to keep doing the uncomfortable so I don't get complacent in my life.)

Here are some more polaroids, because I know you've been wondering where they are! (You can see all of the ones posted for 'Roid Week here, and all of mine here. I'm having a hard time deciding which to post, because six is a little much. The three posted here are some of my submissions from yesterday and today. Enjoy!

'Roid Week 2008: Monday

It's 'Roid Week 2008 in Flickr land this week, and I'm participating. I will try and post my polas here, too, all week, though Friday will be an early birthday post. I'm off to New York for the weekend to celebrate my birthday, though I got celebrations started early this weekend with a dinner/birthday party I hosted for me and my friend Mary. Apparently I like to drag out the festivities as long as I can.

Cute overload

Oh holy hell. I am completely overwhelmed by cute. My sister has reached that stage of early adulthood where you want a pet of your own. I can understand, and was curious about all of the frantic emails and calls to my parents the past week, as she has been anxious and excited about the prospect of being a dog owner. As of yesterday afternoon, my sister is the proud new mama of a 5 month old Maltese that she's named Tana (short for Montana). As some of you know, we had a Maltese for just shy of 18 years. Ivy was such a wonderful dog and she is missed deeply. I am so excited for my sister's new dog. I'm excited for her to experience the wonder and craziness of pet ownership.

I just wish she lived closer so I could play with Miss Tana.

Seeing these pictures gives me a bittersweet feeling, as they make me miss Ivy. But that didn't stop me from mooning over these photos all day. Or stop me from making all of my co-workers look at the photos (sometimes twice). Alix! I'm so excited for you!!

Hello, my name is Simon

On my drive home I was brainstorming a post about my day, but it was getting a little too navel-gazey and it amounted to the phrase, "It's all in your head." The incident from this morning that spurned it all was not in my head, but I dealt with it head on and (I think) got it resolved. By the time I got home I was tired of the subject. Instead I'm listening to a mix I'm currently crafting (please let me know if you want a copy - I'll drop you one in the mail soon) and enjoying some photos I just got processed.

Please meet Simon. Simon is my aunt's gray standard poodle. We dog sat him a couple of weeks ago. I love this dog. I started calling him, "Pony," because he prances around in a spectacular way, akin to a pony. My mother had a white standard poodle in the '70s named Mushroom. Mushroom died when I was a baby, and we've always been a pro-poodle sort of family. It's hard not to be, because they are so smart and sweet. Yes, they can have slightly silly hair-dos, but don't we all at some point?

Go vote for style and charm in 440 square feet

I admire my bloggy friend Ms. Ana Blackburn for her style, wit and charm. But seriously for her style. She has a fantastic eye and she's gone and landed herself in Apartment Therapy's Small Cool 2008 contest. Check out what she has done to 440 square feet. And then go vote "Super Cool!" for her so she can make the semi-finals. I love her ceramic collection, the red in her kitchen, her custom made headboard. I even love her bathroom. Go vote SUPER COOL!

(Originally this photo is found here.)

Seriously, have you voted yet? You have to register, but make the effort. You know I'd do it for you.

Monday morning song and other thoughts

I was discussing the new Raconteurs album with some friends this weekend - actually, I was complaining about the radio in this town, and we were sharing some songs that we liked/hated, and I really like their new single. Anyhow, my friends asked me if I was familiar with Brendan Benson's solo stuff. When I said no, they showed me the video below, mostly because there are a plethora of Brendans in it and he's cute. The song has been stuck in my head ever since (in a good way). Please enjoy. (This is the sort of pop music I wish I could hear more of on the radio.)

Speaking of cute men, did anyone else see Masterpiece Theatre's newest version of A Room with a View? I didn't hate it, but I don't think 80+ minutes is long enough to tell the story. I did like Rafe Spall's George Emerson. He did a good job, and this version's George had more to say than the Merchant Ivory one of the mid-80s. Plus he's cute. Did anyone else see it? If so, how do you feel about the ending they gave it? I thought it was plausible and made everything more bittersweet. In the end it makes me want to re-read the book.

Speaking of books to read, the Outfit (a group of Chicago crime writers who keep a blog), are covering The Big Sleep this week. That reminds me I have to continue my noir education and read some more Chandler.

Internet fun

The internet is such a fun thing. Out of the blue I got a message from a friend from elementary school who moved back to Chile in the fifth grade. We were pen pals, but that petered out after a while and we lost touch. I had just found an old letter from her when she messaged me through Facebook. It is *so* great to be back in touch with her! I love how small the world can be.

Also through Facebook I tagged a person from high school to be friends. We knew each other, and I always thought she was cool, but we didn't know each other very well. We started messaging back and forth and found a mutual love for Josh Ritter, Nina Simone and photography (check her photo blog here and a photo collaboration with two of her friends here). We might do our own photo collaboration together. (Too cool!)

Today was warm with patches of short bursts of violent rain. I was stuck in a long staff meeting this afternoon, but had a view onto the parking lot, watching the weather unfold. It had cleared by the time five pm rolled around. The world was that type of bright after a rain storm - not bright so it washes everything out, but bright so the light seems to enhance all the colors. The air was sweet with freshly cut grass and rain. Although it's supposed to drop 20 degrees tonight. There's vague talk of snow, but I think we'll be safe at this latitude. I'm afraid for my friends in Chicago, though.

For those people who might get crappy weather this weekend, here are some photos from a greenhouse in Indiana, from a couple weeks back. (Sorry the photos are so small - I'm having issues with sizing them from Flickr - click on them to see them larger.)