this is not a show

I was looking forward to this new R.E.M. release, but after watching this trailer, I can hardly contain my excitement!

A Quilt for Emilie

Before I started work on my R.E.M. quilt, my original plan was to make quilts for Ari & Emilie. The R.E.M. quilt was just going to be something to get me started so I would know what I was doing and not mess up the quilts I wanted to make for my kids. I learned a lot from making my first quilt and did a few things differently this time around. The R.E.M. quilt turned out better than I expected, so that gave me a lot of confidence and excitement toward making more.


Emilie's quilt is now complete and I must say it was much easier making a quilt without using t-shirts. I used the same basic concept as my first quilt by essentially just cutting squares and sewing them together. I then made a solid colored backing and tied the quilt layers together. It came out beautifully! I think it is just the right size for her.
I was able to get it done rather quickly and she absolutely loves it. She already knows that I made it for her, and I hope it becomes special to her as she grows up.
I am planning on making Ari's quilt out of his Mario shirts when he outgrows them. Yes, he has that many! But I don't get a break. We have already bought the fabric for me to make a quilt for Valerie. Stay tuned...

That's My Boy

This picture looks really cool upside down and I felt the urge to post it.


I don't really know what else I can say, I'll just let the picture speak for itself.

Our nutty squirrel

Ever since we have lived in this neighborhood, we have enjoyed the squirrels that traipse merrily about outside. Thinking of these squirrels brings back a memory of the fearless squirrel that challenged Walter to a dual and would not back down. The squirrel won the showdown and Walter spent the rest of our walk without the same spring in his step he is known for.

The squirrels that take residence in the maple tree in our back yard are especially entertaining. A year or so ago, I snapped the picture posted above of the squirrel lounging on a tree branch. This summer, we decided to put a squirrel feeder on our tree as a token of appreciation for all the joy these squirrels have brought us the last few years.

Just a small token of thanks to our nutty squirrel.

A Salty Boil

One of the best tips I could give anyone in terms of cooking pasta is to salt the water the pasta will be cooking in before adding the pasta. I felt compelled to write about this because I have had a number of pasta dishes lately that were quite bland and would have benefited greatly from properly seasoned pasta.

So, why add salt to the water in the first place? Salt should be added to the water because every element of a dish should be seasoned. The salt adds a slight saltiness to the pasta that enhances the flavor considerably. Cooking pasta in salted water means that the pasta will absorb some of the salt and therefore not taste bland. This can't be fixed later by salting the pasta after it is cooked or adding extra salt to the sauce; this would just result in a bland pasta with a salty exterior.

So, how much salt should be added to the water? As a general rule of thumb, and what I have also heard from Mario Batali; is that the pasta water should taste like the sea. I even go as far as to season my pasta water with sea salt, another tip from Mario. I hope this didn't come off as being too preachy; I just wanted to get that off my chest and stress the importance of properly seasoned food. The dishes I had would have been saved by simply adding some salt to the pasta water. Thanks for reading.

Frisbee Golf

Who says videos games don't promote an active lifestyle? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself. As I've mentioned before, my family enjoys the Wii Sports Resort video game. One of our favorite games to play in Wii Sports Resort is Frisbee Golf. Ari & I love to duel it out on the virtual golf course. I had never given Frisbee golf much thought in the past, but playing on the Wii got me interested in trying the sport for real.

Highland park has had a Frisbee golf course for a few years and it is free and open to all who want to play. One afternoon after work, Valerie and I grabbed a couple Frisbees, packed up the kids, and headed down to the park. Armed with our plastic Frisbees we received for free at the fair, Ari & I hit the course. I thought we would play a hole or two and be ready to leave, but we ended up playing 10 or 12 holes. It was more fun than I could have imagined!

Ari was really good. Throwing the Frisbee on the Wii really gave him a good understanding on how to throw a real Frisbee. It was really just like the game. It was also nice just walking through the park with my family and being able to play a game with Ari at the same time. The only downfall was that we played too much. Ari's arm hurt pretty bad after we were done from throwing so much; which in turn, has caused him to not want to play again. Every time I ask him if he wants to go, he tells me that he has to wait until he is four before he can play again. Oh well, he'll be four soon enough.

Apple Pie - from Nonna

Printable Recipe

I don't remember how old I was, but I do remember a feeling of winning the lottery when Nonna handed me this card with her apple pie recipe lovingly handwritten on the front. I held in my hands the recipe for the best apple pie I ever ate. But, little did I know, merely having the recipe wasn't enough, executing the recipe properly was a whole different story.

Apple pie is not easy to make, at least for me it isn't. I remember Nonna's apple pies always turned out perfectly; tender, flaky crusts with the fork holes on top, apples at just the right consistency, and perfect little tapioca pearls scattered throughout. Delicious. Eating the pie was the essence of perfection. It was what instilled in me my love of pies.

Whenever I tried to make it, however, I always would do something wrong. I remember the first time I tried it, I overworked the dough, and it was neither tender nor flaky.  Along the way, I mastered the pie crust, but the tapioca caused me fits. I could never get them to cook all the way. The pearls would still be a little hard, and it took away from the enjoyment of the pie considerably. Tapioca pearls haunted my dreams. The flavor of Nonna's pie was there, but I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong with that darned tapioca.

A few months ago, my mom gave me a box of old recipes she found at Nonna's house. It was like a treasure chest of culinary gold. She told me of some of the recipes from her childhood, and they were all there for the most part. Other recipes from my childhood I recognized, too. I was so delighted to go through those recipes, anxiously rummaging through the box of goodies. I was like a kid on Halloween going through the candy bag at the end of a night of tireless trick-or-treating. As I was going through the box, I saw an old handwritten apple pie recipe. I looked at the recipe to see if there was anything different from the recipe Nonna wrote for me. The recipe was exactly the same, except for one ingredient. Instead of two tablespoons of small tapioca, this recipe called for 2 tablespoons of minute tapioca.

Minute tapioca! Maybe that was the answer! I resolved myself to wait until apples were in season to try this new ingredient. I literally thought about it all summer. Last week, I went to The Sunspot's farmers market to pick up some apples. On Thursday evening, I rushed home from work and got to work on the pie. It wasn't until Friday that we cut into the pie. The suspense was almost too much for me to handle as I made the first cut. As I served the first piece, I looked and the tapioca was completely cooked through. Success! The pie was very good! It still wasn't as perfect as the one's Nonna used to make, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. A couple more tries and I should have it down pat. Looks like I'll be going to the apple orchard this weekend. Hooray for pie!!

Lightnin' Hopkins - Embryonic

"Lightnin' Hopkins" is the ninth track on R.E.M.'s fifth studio album Document released in 1987. The track shares it's name with Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins, a country blues guitarist from Texas.
The similarities end there, as it is widely assumed that the song really has no meaning at all. The song is also recognized for Bill Berry's drumming, which is pretty much the most frenetic and busy performance of any R.E.M. song.

I'm not a huge fan of the song, but my mom likes it a lot. Any time we talk about it and I tell her it's not one of my favorites, she always says, "But what about the drums!?" The early version takes place at McCabe's Guitar shop just a few months before Document was released in 1987. I also provided the album version for comparisons sake. This one's for you, Mom. Enjoy!

Deciduousness

Every year since we've lived on Main Street, I guess it would be about 5 years now, the tree directly across the street from us is the first tree where I notice the leaves changing color. It's always somewhat shocking to see it the first time. All the other trees in our neighborhood are still almost all green, but this one is in full swing of the abscission process.

I do enjoy this time of year. I love the autumn leaves, the crisp, cool mornings and evenings, and apples and pumpkins galore. Now, if there could only be a way to go directly from autumn to spring, I would be a happy camper. But I guess there wouldn't be an autumn or spring without winter, so I should be grateful for that, too.

3-year-old Finds Cure for Hiccups

So, Ari and I were in the kitchen making biscuits this morning when I was suddenly struck with a mighty bout of hiccups. Not a fan of the hiccups, I complained as they kept coming with reckless abandon, one right after the other. Seeing that I was uncomfortable, Ari looked at me and said, in a very manner of fact manner,

"Daddy, if you laugh, then your hiccups will be gone."

"Laugh?" I asked him, to make sure I heard him correctly.

"Yea, laugh." He said as if I should have known.

So, I let out a hearty laugh, and sure enough, my hiccups were instantly gone. Ari knew how to cure my hiccups! I gave him a big hug and high praise for his astute wisdom. I have never heard of laughing to cure hiccups. I guess it's true what they say, laughter is the best medicine. Thanks Ari!