esprit de l'escalier

Some Seattle photos

I have some stories and lots of photos to share from my recent trips, but I haven't been sleeping well and can't find the proper words. Here are some from my Seattle/Gig Harbor trip. More photos here.

More weddings

This month has been full of weddings. The past two weeks I've only been home two days, as I've been attending weddings on both of the coasts. Last week Wednesday, I flew into Seattle to meet up with my sister. We were in town to celebrate with long-time family friends, whose eldest daughter got married. We got in early to spend some time in Seattle and stayed in a swank hotel that I got via Priceline.

Yesterday my parents and sister (who flew east on Tuesday) drove to Philadelphia. My brother flew from Chicago to meet up with us. Our cousin is getting married, and it's the first visit to this old city for all of us. Photos to follow.

Wisconsin photos

I thought about writing about my hellish Megabus experience on Sunday (4.5 hrs by the side of the road, night falling, bus rattling with each passing semi), but I'm still tired from the experience. Instead I'll just share some photos from my time in Wisconsin.

'Roid Week 2009 - Tuesday

Blargh. That's how I'm feeling. More polaroids to share, though. These are from Minneapolis, where I recently visited.

Happy 'Roid Week 2009!

Peanut Butter Pie PFR

My number one goal on my spring break, besides reading for fun, relaxing, etc., was to eat some pie. I mean, I was going to the South, right? And pie is a part of Southern food equation.

I scoured our guidebooks and decided that we had to go to Poogan's Porch and eat some of their peanut butter pie. My travel companions were up to the task. Poogan's was named after a neighborhood dog, which we all thought was a good omen. We sat in the back light-filled room, with cheery green walls and stuffed ourselves silly. Some how we made room for our pie.

My guest judge was my hostess for the week, my friend Cindy. She had a lot to share with you, dear readers, about her particular qualifications for this task. She doesn't like pumpkin pie or fruit pie, but prefers pecan pies. She is also an avid peanut butter lover, in fact she said she is interested in incorporating peanut butter in desserts. Sounds perfect, right? Plus, she's a Pi Phi.

Cindy said, "It is not as rich as I imagined, which I enjoy." She thought that the nutty topping would be better, but I liked it. She liked how it was cold. (I left out the bit about her love for all thing ice cream, too.) Krista, another of our friends, found the texture like ice cream.

The crust was very thin, so we did not know how to judge it. It had, in my opinion, amazing tasting cream piped at the edge of the pie. It was great with coffee. Cindy gave it a 4 out of 5. I gave it closer to a five.

If you go to Charleston, go to Poogan's. Trust me.

(Photos courtesy of Dana (top) and Krista (pie). We ate at Poogan's the day I lost my digi.)

Trip to Charleston

I went to South Carolina last week. A friend from high school had a vacation house through work and invited some high school and college friends, and five of us showed up. We ate well, wandered the beach, did some puzzles, rode bikes, watched some basketball, etc. We were outside of Charleston and wandered the old part of the city over several days. It was nice to be away and to explore a new (old) city.

I knew about the city's connection to the Civil War, but I hadn't thought about its connection to the Revolution as well. I learned today that Charleston was one of the first cities to create historic preservation laws (I think in 1931, if I remember my lecture correctly), and its commitment to preserving its historical legacy is evident.

No trip is perfect, and I had some hiccups along the way. I brought my Dad's little point and shoot, to supplement the polaroid and yashica mat, and it proved to be too small for my own good. It got lost/stolen/disappeared somewhere/how the end of my second full day. Which screws up my photo-a-day project, and I lost some PFR shots. SIGH. But I did do 2 PFRs while I was there, so there will be some pie posts forthcoming.

Now I'm back to school and work, trying to figure out my new routine, trying to find a job, etc. For now, enjoy a couple of polaroids from my trip. Click on them to see them larger at Flickr.

Lucky

Guess where my Dad went last week?

Also, I should have said, "More things I love on TUESDAY." Because Mondays are long and I have no idea why I thought I'd have blogging time today. Sorry for the fake-out. Etsy love tomorrow.

(Photo courtesy of my father.)

Film from this summer

I recently finally developed two rolls of medium format film that I took with my borrowed Yashica Mat (Sharon, thanks as always). Included on one roll was a handful of photos from Montana.  I can't believe I hauled this heavy marvelous camera out west only to take a couple of photos.  I'm an idiot, what can I say? 

Please enjoy these photos of summer.  We have more snow here today.  As always, click on the photos to see them larger.

Oh summer, I miss you.

Montana PFR

After my car mishap, I thought I needed something to calm my nerves.  The night before I had made some notes about possible restaurants to scope out, and one of them happened to be a couple of miles away from my blowout, and happened to be famous for its pie.

I pulled into Glen's Cafe in Florence, MT.  It was a small diner that reminded me of a smaller version of the diner in Twin Peaks.  (Being surrounded by evergreens helped that feeling.)  I was a little shaky when I got in, due to the adrenaline burst after my tire got away from me, and I took a seat at the counter, looking into the tiny kitchen.  Over my head hung a wooden sign with all of the types pies on movable parts, so they could be turned out or in, depending on availability.  I felt like the only non-regular and ordered a slice of blackberry pie (a la mode) and cup of coffee.

I was feeling shy, partially because I felt like a tourist and because I normally don't do PFRs solo (the whole point is to share a pie experience with friends), so I didn't take any photos of the pie itself.  (Mr. Mannion will probably be happy about that, as he always accuses me of trying to make him hungry.)  I felt a little silly pulling out my camera, so it stayed in my bag.

Glen's Cafe: September 2, 2008: Slice of blackberry.
No guest judge, just me, a self-proclaimed pie-enthusiast.

Crust: Too blond - it seemed underdone and not browned enough or very flaky.
Filling: Good filling, nice subtle hints of cinnamon with the berries.
Ice cream: Excellent.  I don't normally get pie heated up or a la mode, but I panicked when the waitress asked and went with it.
Coffee: I don't normally rate the coffee, but I have a deep love of diner coffee, so I ordered some.  It was great diner coffee.  The caffeine probably didn't help calm my nerves, but it went well with the pie.

Overall: 3 out of 5.  The pie disappointed, because of the crust.  The ambiance was perfect - classic side-of-the-road diner.  The regulars seemed friendly and the food looked good.

Guardian angels in red suspenders

Remember my trip to Montana?  It seems like ages ago.  The first day my sister had to work she kindly lent me her car and helped me plan a little jaunt to Hamilton, MT.  She got up and left, and I pottered a bit and then left myself.  I got as far as Lolo, MT, about 10 miles from my sister's house.

I was coming to a stop light when the car started to shake.  A car drove by with two guys pointing at my car.  That's about when my tire rolled past.  I stopped the car, tried not to hyperventilate, put on my hazards and tried to figure out what you're supposed to do when your tire rolls past your car.

I looked in the glove compartment and couldn't find my sister's AAA card.  My sister didn't answer her phone.  Neither did my mother, my father or the couple of people I tried to call.  Luckily the two guys who tried to get me to stop came back to help me.

They wore flannel shirts and cowboy hats and set immediately to work, once I figured out how to open the trunk.  (One, named Franz and pictured above, sported a handlebar mustache and red suspenders.)  They quickly changed my (or rather my sister's) tire.  They told me the spare was a real tire and I could continue safely on my day. 

When I thanked them (profusely) they told me this is what they do.  "Rescue people?"  "Sort of."  They worked for a church group that helped people in need.  Ah, the kindness of strangers.