esprit de l'escalier

PFR #7

Seven!  Can you believe it?  Two weeks ago (I'm so behind!) I went on a Pie Field Research outing with my dear friends Cristina and Mary.  We went to Just Pies in Worthington.  (Cristina's roommate had scouted the place for us, and reported back that their rhubarb pie was great.  Thanks Julie!)



Anyhow, we went sort of late (well late for bakeries, it was about 2pm) on a Saturday, forgetting it was the day before Mother's Day.  The place was empty but for a couple blackberry and blueberry pies.  We went with the blackberry, because although not quite in season, one of my esteemed co-judges is allergic to blueberries.  It was a gorgeous day, so we thought we'd take our pie to the Park of Roses.



Here's how the pie fared:
Cristina (dubbing her self a "pie novice" and pictured above) gave the pie a 3.5.  She has family in the Pacific Northwest and is a little picky about her blackberries, and because they aren't quite in season yet, she found the filling rather blah.



Mary (dubbing herself a "crust person" and pictured above) gave the pie a 3.  She thought the pie had a good crust and liked that the pie was not overly sweet, nor had the bottom crust disintegrated.



I also gave it a 3.5 (pictured above is my plate after my second piece).  I thought the crust was good, but didn't dig the blackberries.  Next time I will go earlier in the day, NOT on a holiday weekend, and will order rhubarb.  Or whatever is in season.

My next planned PFR is going to be a pie from the Swiss grandmother at my local farmer's market, but not until July.  Who knows?  Perhaps I'll have a spontaneous PFR in Europe.

Quick question

I'm in the middle of an unbelievable case of school paper-related paralysis.  I have a twenty pager due tomorrow and I am not as far as I should be, given it's 7pm the day before it's due.  What am I doing here?   I have a quick question.

I need some book suggestions for my trip.  I'm hoping for some things that are related to the places I'll be visiting.  I'm thinking Vonnegut (I mean, I'm going to be in Dresden, so Slaughterhouse-Five seems a perfect fit), but besides that I'm stuck.  I'll be in Scotland, Ireland, Germany (for the longest) and the Netherlands.  Please help.  And send good thoughts to my stupid, procrastinating self.

Quick post

I said I would post about the reunion that I went to last weekend, but didn't.  I didn't have the time and I didn't really know what to say.  Except that it was great and being back there made me feel centered again.  I was able to revisit an important period in my life and not get (too) maudlin.  Photos can be seen here.  (If you don't get the gnome, my apologies.  He's come to be the mascot of the place I used to call home.  He's like a secret handshake - you know him, you're always a member of the club.)

I'm in the midst of a lot of school work - my eyelid started twitching this morning, which is usually the sign of a long week ahead. Friday the projects and papers are due.  Monday and Tuesday mark my finals.  Wednesday I hop on a jet plane.  Have I mentioned I still have 4 days free that need planning for?  I'm thinking of couch surfing, as it has been highly recommended by a couple of friends, but am a little nervous.  My lovely friend Emily got me a place to stay in London (thank you!). 

In unrelated news, my sister was not in the paper today.  A class that she organized at her brewery was, though!  She just wasn't there the day the newspaperman came in to get his interviews.  Alix, can we have a class like this when I visit in September?

Memorial Day: Remember

This morning was filled with ambient music.  We live on a hill and on the bottom of one of its sides is a cemetery.  Music wafted up from it as a choir sang patriotic songs and a marching band played.  Later there was some popping noises that I realized was ceremonial gun fire.  Today my mind keeps coming back to this poem, "Remember" by Christina Rossetti.

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

I do not feel a scream coming on

Today started foggy - I was exhausted.  I was pretty focused in the afternoon and somehow got a lot of research done for a paper I'm writing on shrinking cities.  My studious behavior made me late to a reception my department was having, and (much to my surprise) I found out I won an honorable mention in a poster competition!  I really thought the person who told me confused me with someone else or was kidding.  I'm fairly tickled about it.

This weekend I went to a reunion for a place that was really important to me, and I will post about it tomorrow.  I planned on posting on it tonight, but I got a little distracted.  The Self-Styled Siren inspired me to watch The Shop on the Corner.  My mother hates Jimmy Stewart, but there are things that I love him in.  Particularly this scene (from a different movie, but so good).

Did anyone else catch the lame-o finale to Gossip Girl?  I'm assuming the floppiness of the last couple of episodes can be blamed on the strike, right?  How else to explain what was building to be a juicy arch fall flat, right?  In my head I had written a much more salacious ending.

I also watched the Reaper finale and was pleasantly surprised.  That show has been a pleasant surprise its entire season.  It's not going to change your world,and it's weekly storyline can be a little repetitive, but it's consistently entertaining, and actually liked the twist at the end this season (unlike GG).  I also think Ken Marino and Michael Ian Black have been perfect as demons plotting against the Devil.

Wow.

I am a super lucky person, because I have met some really neat and generous people due to the internet. Look what came in the mail for me today. Two packages, one giant and heavy, the other tiny and light, holding these two things.

Jennifer sent me the tiny goat as a talisman to carry with me on my travels next month. I had told her that I was going to have to sacrifice a goat to the travel gods to make sure all of my crazy flights on my itinerary worked out. Her solution is much more humane, and cute! Plus, no blood to clean up.

My flickr friend Nickleen sent me the camera. It's a Polaroid 250 and it's in beautiful condition - complete with its manual (from 1968). I cannot believe it - it's such a nice gift. She even threw in some film, as well as a beautiful pola. Her photostream is a constant source for inspiration and beauty. Her photos are often atmostpheric and moody, and I think her portraits are sublime. Her collection of cameras will make my photo friends (I'm looking right at you Sharon) drool, as will her eye. I am always a little embarrassed to how many photos of hers I want to favorite. I need to figure out how to repay her (and how to get the camera to work).

Recently I also received a wonderful mix from another internet friend Sara. We met on a music forum we both used to frequent and have become friends. I owe her (and a couple others - I haven't forgotten - I swear!) a mix in return. I'm planning on sending a bunch of stuff Thursday.

Thank you all, dear friends!

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.

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.