10
Sep, 2007

millions of peaches, peaches for me

my breakfast last sunday–yes, those are golden raspberries and greek yogurt with my peaches. very, very delicious.

sadly, this post title has a hefty dollop of hyperbole. i do not have millions of peaches. i have five. but they are some of the yummiest peaches i have eaten in years. they don’t look like much. they’re tiny, the skins still look slightly greenish, they have a number of bruises, but… they were locally grown, allowed to ripen on the tree (thus the bruises after any amount of transportation whatsoever) and they are delicious. peaches are one of those fruits that i never seem to be living in the right state for. there have never been an abundance of peaches (i don’t think….) in any of my hometowns. but i have a great appreciation for a good peach. because there are so many bad peaches out there. there are flavorless peaches, hard peaches, mealy peaches, mushy peaches and if you’re very lucky, you might get one or two really good peaches every year. i’m debating whether i have the time, money and willpower to purchase enough of these peaches (assuming they return to the farmer’s market again next week) to can them. that is truly the most wonderful flavor in the middle of winter–to open up a home-canned jar of peaches. like fruity gold. i remember in college being very ashamed of myself for eating waaaaay too many of my generous roommate’s home canned peaches from her mom. i couldn’t help myself. they tasted so amazing and they slip down your throat so easily! she taught me how wonderful they can taste with a slight sprinkling of nutmeg or cinnamon or cloves. very sorry, melissa, to have eaten so many of your peaches. i am also extremely jealous of the domestic goddess and her canned peaches. i wonder if i could barter something for home-canned peaches…. anyone? anyone? i have pidoodle!

Posted in summer, yum | 8 Comments
04
Sep, 2007

the many faces of herbert

this puppet needs a post all his own, so here are a few (a very few) of the many (very many) faces of herbert (or perhaps sometimes herberta? bertina?)

he’s such a ham. but he’s also so earnest. i mean, look at those eyes! (at least, the blue fuzzy ones. i’m not sure the purple ones are all that earnest. they kind of freak me out actually. perhaps a bit over-eager.)

Posted in fun stuff | 1 Comment
03
Sep, 2007

labor day with the in-laws

remember this baby (the first picture)? well, he’s a little bit bigger now.

just got back from a weekend with mr. happy stuff’s family. what a great, relaxing time we had! i took lots (and lots and lots) of pictures. here are some of my favorites:

(grandma and grandpa were generous enough to be my photographic guinea pigs for pictures of lovely older faces. i’ve done so much baby photography, i thought i’d try the other end of the spectrum. they kindly complied.)

there was dew on the grass this morning outside the b&b.

and here’s what we did (besides take pictures):

on friday, mr. h-s and i both worked a few hours in the morning, then headed out. we had a few things to return to ikea, so we stopped on the way there. then got terribly snarled up in chicago traffic. took us three hours to get from ikea to the indiana side of the city. blech.

saturday started off with the b&b’s now [in]famous gigantic breakfast. we had pancakes, eggs, fruit and muffins (that’s what i call three breakfasts!). then, mr. h-s and i hopped onto our bikes and pedaled from the b&b to grandma and grandpa’s house (about 26 miles) through amish country. what a great ride! the weather was perfect and the ride was very flat–just watch out for the horse poo! we saw a barn being built, two pink pigs sleeping in an empty corn crib, a pasture with 5 or 6 mini-horses, a dog trying to herd a full-size horse (and nearly getting kicked for his trouble), and two giant fuzzy caterpillars crossing the road (about as big as one of my fingers!). we arrived just in time for a nice light lunch, then took showers and visited with the family. when i mentioned that i had taken a puppet workshop last week, aunt e. told me that there was a string puppet show in town–did i want to see it? sure! so five women packed into the car (there were also some cute shops near the puppet show) and off we headed on an adventure. the puppet show also had a puppet store nearby and i found a fantastic puppet with interchangeable parts (i’ll try to take pictures in the next day or two to show you). the show itself was fascinating. we hadn’t really discussed marionettes in class very extensively, so it was cool to see how one person could do a whole show with them. this show was “international circus” with a trapeze artist (pictured below), a weight lifter, a chinese acrobat, a brazilian soccer player, a granny-esque character who danced the can-can, a roller-skating/thumb-sucking clown, and a unicycle-riding monkey wearing a leather jacket. the puppeteer dressed in black and wasn’t “backstage” so although my eyes wanted to only watch the puppet, i could occasionally study him to see how he was managing all of the puppet manipulation. afterwards, we were allowed to take some pictures and learn how the puppets work. neato!

that night, we all went to the olive garden and had a great time. there were 18 of us (including the baby) so we were a bit worried when they wouldn’t allow us to make a reservation, but we were seated in less than half an hour and got three servers waiting our tables to speed things up a bit. it was a challenge, but i managed to save room for lemon cream cake for dessert and it was sooooooo worth it. it managed to be both rich and refreshing at the same time. delicious!

then, true to family form, we went back to the b&b and played cards into the wee hours. my puppet came out a few times to help with the game. in at least one of his combinations of parts, we discovered that his name is herbert and he likes to read poetry in coffee houses. (he has a fuzzy orange goatee)

sunday was a family day all day. we had a mini church service at the house (i lead singing) and then a delicious lunch of curry chicken. and then the floodgates of food were opened. there was hearty noshing all day long (even after everyone was completely stuffed following a big lunch!). i took lots of pictures (see above) and we all played cards and laughed and had a really wonderful time. (here’s one small card game group)

finally, it was time to say goodbye and off to bed and the weekend was over. hugs all around and we’ll see you next time! thanks for a relaxing visit!

Posted in stuff that makes me smile, summer, yum | Comments Off on labor day with the in-laws
28
Aug, 2007

crafty evening

last night, a friend of mine came over for some crafting. we ended up not being able to eat dinner until around 8:00 or so, but she didn’t seem stressed out about that, so i didn’t worry.

she was working on a collage-y project and i was trying to make the cute paper lanterns, only instead of flowers, i need them to look like bugs (long story, work-related). she wasn’t feeling very inspired about her collage stuff (possibly because it was already so late?), but i managed to get these four bugs made. they’re not nearly as cute as the flowers, but i’m still getting the hang of it. i hope the artist of the ornaments contacts me soon–i’d love to see what she could do with the idea!

(i think my kitties must have chewed on this guy’s antennae sometime today…)

Posted in crafty stuff | 1 Comment
25
Aug, 2007

funny things at the farmer’s market

in addition to the lovely produce and meats and cheeses and flowers and such available at the farmer’s market each week, there is also a vast array of people-watching opportunities.  my favorite glimpses of today (sorry, i don’t have any photos!  you’ll have to use your imagination.)

–a couple (middle-aged) both wearing brightly colored beanies (with propellers!) while riding in their convertible car

–a baby wearing a tiny cheese-head hat

–someone taking a photo who had an ear of corn they weren’t sure what to do with while snapping the shot–stuck the end in their mouth and held it with their teeth to free up their hands

–a tiny girl with tiny glasses and big eyes, waving over her mom’s shoulder at the people behind them

Posted in stuff that makes me smile, summer | Comments Off on funny things at the farmer’s market
25
Aug, 2007

“restaurant” review: ma-cha teahouse + art gallery

i’ve decided to start writing reviews of new places (at least new for me) that i visit, around town and on travels. i know that past blog entries have sort of half-heartedly done this already, but now i’ll be more deliberate. in the future (after i’ve written more than one) i may decide to pull them together in a “page” on the side bar or you may just have to find them by searching for the term “restaurant review” as i’ll attempt to remember to title them all using that phrase. this one is in quotes because the teahouse isn’t really a restaurant, but i just had to tell you about it!

my pastor and i had a planning meeting today and we decided to meet at the ma-cha teahouse + gallery on monroe st. neither of us had been there, but both of us had noticed it and wanted to see what it was all about. apparently, it used to be only an art gallery. they recently decided to change the name and add a teahouse element. great hook! as you enter, there’s a glass display counter where they’ve (artfully) displayed some refreshingly small cookies (with an equally refreshingly small price tag of only 35 cents each!) and a giant list of teas on the menu board on the wall. there is a coffee dispenser on the side tea that you could purchase to take home as well. we ordered our tea (iced sweet tea for me, iced chai for my pastor) and explored the place. the side gallery downstairs is still all white and very serene feeling. there is a rotating art display on the walls and right now there are also some whimsical paper art “ornaments” hanging in front of the windows (hand made and only $2 each–i had to snatch up three for myself!).

there are 2 or 3 small tables–big enough for two people to share a cup of tea and chat. some of them have flat, wide bowls filled with green sand (about the color of green tea) and a paintbrush that could be used to trace designs in the sand–zen garden style. they also have cases with jewelry. i loved one of the necklaces so much that (despite my large collection of pieces i’ve made myself over the years) i had to buy it.


upstairs, they’ve painted each of the rooms a different color and decorated it in a different style. there’s a large-ish moroccan style room at the front of the house, and two smaller rooms (one decorated in a pink/black vintage fashion plate/parisian style, the other painted a soothing teal color and decorated in an asian style–very effective! the table in the teal room has a lovely little bonsai instead of the sand zen garden.), and one additional tiny room full of fun toys for kids at the end of the hall. the rooms feel very intimate and peaceful. the guy who sold us our tea also pointed out that there is a letter-writing station near the door where they provide stationary (i think he even said they provide the postage!) so that people will sit and take the time to write letters. they want to encourage people to slow down for a little bit. oooh, and i forgot to tell you about one of the most fun little rooms–a tiny nook in the front window, across from the tea counter, has steps that lead up to it and then you can sit on floor pillows around a low table while you drink tea and write letters (or chat or do needlework or whatever helps you slow down). he gave me a stamp card (buy 10 cups of tea, get one free) and…. i think i may have to try to fill it up. what a great find! (and the tea was delicious!)

highly recommended.    :) :) :) :)

Posted in reviews, yum | 4 Comments
21
Aug, 2007

reason #265 i love my job

week-long puppet workshop.

yes, this week i am participating in a truly delightful workshop where i’m learning how to work with puppets in the library. we’re also making puppets and puppety props. there are 10 people in the class and they’re from all over–indiana, south dakota, kansas–i feel incredibly lucky that i live close enough to bike to the class each day.
today we worked on how to move hand puppets to communicate more effectively with our audience. we were given blank puppets (just a head and arms, no facial features) and then given a card with a scenario on it that we had to silently act out–sort of like charades with puppets. one of my scenarios was to run onstage, trip and fall, and exit the stage crying and limping. the second scenario was to enter the stage riding on an imaginary horse, rein the horse in, stop, think a minute (as though deciding my route), then point off stage and gallop away. i thought these were both a bit tricky to convey, but apparently, i was successful-ish as people could guess what i was doing both times. the hardest motion? sitting down. my hand doesn’t really bend the right way and i still haven’t quite figured it out.
tomorrow, we’re working on voices. i’m very excited about that. i’ve been trying to find a good puppet voice for years and have had trouble with consistency. maybe i’ll find a good voice tomorrow.

Posted in crafty stuff, fun stuff, library stuff | Comments Off on reason #265 i love my job
20
Aug, 2007

mushrooms (so tiny, so cute)

mr. happy stuff asked me on sunday night if i’d seen the mushrooms popping up in our increasingly soggy exterior stairwell (so. much. rain.). i thought it was very sweet of him to point them out to me just because he knew i would think they were delightfully cute. here’s a picture:

to give you some idea of scale, let’s see… these were maybe as tall as the top joint of my pinkie finger? the background is the woodgrain of the railroad-tie stairs. i love how the tops sort of look like translucent jellyfish.

Posted in stuff that makes me smile | Comments Off on mushrooms (so tiny, so cute)
19
Aug, 2007

into every happy life a little rain must fall….

and flood the basement.  yep, we woke up this morning to discover that, once again, one of our three sump pumps failed in the middle of the night, allowing water to flow throughout our basement.  it’s been worse.  this time, there were at least some dry spots and it wasn’t ankle deep anywhere.  i didn’t get any pictures of the water (had higher priorities than recording it–namely, getting rid of it as quickly as possible) but here’s a nice shot of our attempts to dry the carpet:

once we figured out which sump pump was not doing its job and that it wasn’t just a flipped breaker or something simple, mr. happy stuff (who, wasn’t really all that happy–he was supposed to be playing in a frisbee tournament today) went to the home depot to buy a new sump pump.  he said that sump pumps were a pretty popular item this morning.  apparently, one of the employees was just parked in that aisle, with a stool  to help reach stuff on top shelves, cup of coffee in hand, ready for the flood of flooded homeowners.  sadly, mr. h-s had to see this man twice because the first pump he bought wasn’t the right one.  both trips, he saw quite a number of people making similar purchases.  one of the men said that this was the first time his basement had ever flooded and that this afternoon, he was hosting his parent’s 40th wedding anniversary at his home (at least partially in his basement). mr. h-s also purchased a few “water alarms” that sound an alarm when standing water appears on the floor.  brilliant!  let’s hope we never have occasion to hear them, but if we do, then at least we’ll hopefully catch the water before it reaches the carpet (and the laptop and the pool table and…).
let’s see…. this blog is supposed to be happy stuff, so where’s the happy in all of this?  that it didn’t happen on one of the weekends that we were out of town!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
17
Aug, 2007

turbo-charged run

for most of the summer, i’ve been running with my ipod. i had been having difficulty pushing myself past that mental wall that always pops up about 2.5 miles into a run saying, “i’m tired, i’m bored, i don’t like running, when will this be over?” so i thought i’d distract myself with music. i had a mix of random “songs i like” that i’d put on my shuffle to listen to while traveling, so i just listened to that. there’s probably a few hours of music if i listened to it straight through, but now that i’d used that same mix for a few months, it was getting a little old. i knew which songs really didn’t work for running (way too fast, way too slow) i knew the songs that were irritatingly close to working (if i could just run double time, this would be perfect!), and the few songs that were exactly perfect–my running cadence–and that put extra energy in my stride whenever they popped up in the mix. i thought i’d heard that there were running mixes that you could find online and started to explore my options to see if i could find other songs that were perfect.

after a little searching around on the internet, i found jogtunes which lists some songs according to their bpm (beats per minute). none of my favorite songs were on the list (not surprising) so i wasn’t sure how to find similar songs. until i saw their link to this cool tool which allows you manually calculate the bpm of any song. by using that tool, i discovered that my favorite songs (“mushaboom” by feist and “stop this train” by john mayer) were both right around 180 bpm. so i went back to the jogtunes website and found other songs that were around 180, and also went through my own favorite songs on itunes, tapping out beats on the bpm calculator to find good ones, and started compiling a new itunes running mix. this morning, i used it for the first time and…. wow. i’m exhausted, and yet, by the end of my 4 mile run (while listening to “for the longest time” by billy joel) i didn’t really want to stop–the music was so compelling! i also found it amusing that really hard core (at least for my ears) songs like “going under” by evanescence seemed like a rhythmic relief after more quiet (but apparently quicker paced) songs like “the boxer” by simon and garfunkel (that one, late in my run, totally kicked my butt).

any runners out there have favorite songs to run to? or other exercise + music combos? other music resource recommendations? if you find any other good songs around 170-180 bpm, send them to me!

Posted in sporty stuff | 3 Comments