Snap!

Dad

2012-01-14T09:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Friday the 13th, and we had lots going on around here...getting sent home from school early for poor behavior, getting new clients, passing our date of due diligence and finally feeling like we can start packing for a big move. Also, found out that our internet tv has an app called Vudu, which lets you rent and buy movies, and found that by signing up we got a $6 credit...more than enough to rent a movie that I'd been jonesing to see - Pirate Radio. It seemed like yesterday was just the best. And then, just before going to bed I realized yesterday was the day, three years ago, that my dad passed away. And I thought, "well, dad, if you had anything to do with the luck that we had today, thanks." And it made me smile.
I found these pictures a few weeks ago while going through some boxes in anticipation of moving. The weird thing is, I cannot remember ever seeing these photos before. Call me a hippie, but I just feel like dad is still around, and he's letting me know in the best ways.

Oh, and he really would have loved Pirate Radio - and you would, too!

we are ready for some football

2012-01-13T13:55:00.002-05:00

What does a (semi)vegan do when the best team ever, the Baltimore Ravens, is in the play-offs? It's time to get serious about game watching, hearty and fun food. Besides some easy snacks like guacamole, chips, salsa, hummus and pita, I have a few more interesting ideas. Like, tempeh banh mi, and falafel. The banh mi is cool because it's basically a vietnamese hoagie - we switch out the sausage/ meat component for tempeh marinated in korean bbq sauce and it's super tasty. Homemade falafel is another easy treat, now that I have an actual real live food processor.
Tempeh Banh Mi
1. slice 1 package of tempeh into pieces that would fit onto your baguette
2. marinate the tempeh in some korean bbq sauce (which is easy enough to find at the grocery store, even down here in NC) for about 20 minutes - or more, whatever.
3. wash and prep veggies: matchsticks of carrots and cucumber, lots of cilantro, slices of jalapeno (remove seeds)
4. mix up some spicy mayo by combining your fave mayo with sriracha.
5. grill the tempeh on a grill pan until you get some good char on both sides
6. assemble banh mi: slather on the spicy mayo to the top of the halved baguette, then layer some tempeh, then the veggies, cilantro and jalapeno.
7. happy eating

The falafel recipe that we'be been making weekly cause it's so good is this one from epicurious: My Favorite Falafel

Now all we need is some decent beer and for the Ravens to beat Houston on Sunday!

tricky chocolate milkshake

2012-01-13T12:46:00.003-05:00

Oh, blog. I was gonna keep you updated all the time...and I just gave up on you. But today, I have something that I must share, but don't really think a lot of people will care about. A chocolate milkshake that is healthy. With no dairy. That fools our very picky "i want regular cow milk!" toddler. And there's avocado in it. I was inspired by this post on serious eats: Chocolate Avocado Milkshake
Plus, we had on hand a rather large amount of coconut water recently purchased from Costco with the intention of becoming enormously healthy in the new year.
And then I changed the recipe, of course.
So here's what I did:
1. mixed up 1 tsp. cocoa powder and 2 tsp. maple syrup until it made kind of a paste.
2. added 1/4 - 1/2 an avocado...depends on how crazy you are, but this is what makes it thick and shake-like, so...
3. pour in about 1 1/2 cups coconut water
4. using an immersion blender (or make the whole thing in a regular blender) blend until smooth.
5. enjoy your chocolate "milk"shake! share with a toddler who will suck it down happily thinking he is getting a very special treat.

countdown to turkey day AKA a serious Vegetarian Thanksgiving for real

2011-11-01T13:30:00.008-04:00

It's November and now my favorite food time of the year.

Every year I think way too much about Thanksgiving dinner...I have been obsessed with the perfect meal...all the deliciousness of comfort food and old fashioned flavors combined with not too much fuss in the kitchen. I guess everyone's idea of "easy" in the kitchen is different, but I have officially declared the Thanksgiving menu we came up with 2 years ago as The Best. It also happens to be pretty much vegetarian...and could easily be vegan. Add a turkey to make everybody happy - but it is seriously optional when you put all this together. Like this year, it will only be the 3 of us, so a turkey would be way too much. But last year when my siblings and their significant others came over, we just included a turkey, and there was still more than enough food to make everyone happy. Yay!
So, here is the menu - including links to recipes for approximately the best matches to the recipes I use. Good times.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook

Massaged Kale Salad
from Feeding the Whole Family (I use dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds to make it extra thanksgiving-y)

Sweet Potato Rosti
essentially Mark Bittman's Beet Rosti with sweet potatoes swapped in for beets.

Stuffing with oysters
Yeah, I know oysters aren't vegetables. Leave them out, it's your world. I like this guide from Martha Stewart, cuz stuffing needs to be customized. We use half sourdough half whole wheat.

Since we've been kind of sort of on a vegan kick for the past month or so I'm so glad that I have this most important food holiday covered. Skip worrying about what wine to serve and go with lots of good Belgian ale:) Done and done.

ps: don't forget dessert.
Maple Cookie Ice Box Pie. Make your favorite shortbread cookies with maple syrup instead of sugar. layer them up with whipped cream and top with a tiny bit of grated nutmeg. Cheers!

sugar hangover!

2011-11-01T11:59:00.005-04:00

Lesson learned this Halloween:
1. our house is inherently already scary looking and needs hardly any spooky decorations because we are one of 2 houses on the block that actually participated in this holiday. Lame.
2. our son LOVES scary stuff.
3. the only person who is going to eat the homemade caramel/ brittle is me. Not that that is a reason not to make it...just, I shouldn't be surprised when I wake up post-Halloween 4 pounds heavier.
4. Halloween is the best and trick or treating is our favorite!!!

Irene

2011-08-27T14:44:00.003-04:00

Our house, our street. These pictures were taken at about 2:30pm, just when we arrived home. The power was on, though the clocks were flashing, so it must have been out at some point, but everything in the fridge was nice and cold, so no harm done.

Lots of leaves and a few big branches down in the front and back, but all the trees held strong. Thank goodness. Looks like a pear tree is down around the corner from us in someone's yard. Neighbors across the street are braving the wind gusts to start raking and clean-up. We think it may be safer to hold off until later tonight or tomorrow. Wind gusts feel pretty strong - Todd was convinced not to mess around unpacking the car too long. Those oak trees out front are no joke, when a branch comes down you wouldn't want to be under it. I'm glad we didn't stay here last night, though we would have been fine. My nerves would be beyond shot. As I type another branch just came down with a crash onto the metal awning over Todd's office window. Stay indoors folks and thanks for the short visit, Irene!

a good pet, part 2

2011-08-18T12:11:00.004-04:00

and my little cutie just kickin it on sunday morning. "no, mommy, you watch your show. look what i found! i'm reading a book!"

a good pet

2011-08-16T18:33:00.005-04:00

A new pet has joined the family! We found a little cricket in the backyard today and have set him up with a plush pad in a big old jar. Noel has named him Grasshopper. Apparently, they make delightful, if short-lived, pets. We learned all we need to know about cricket pet-keeping on the Old Farmer's Almanac site, which was very brief and to the point. Excellent.

Also, the bread making time of the year is in full swing in this house. I have been struggling with getting bread right all summer, but have finally pulled through with my take on a super solid and dead easy recipe. This recent post on The Kitchn motivated me to give bread one more try this summer. Man! First go, I basically followed the exact recipe (which is a tweak of the original posted in the NY Times by Mark Bittman) with a little added sourdough starter that I have already going (for flavor). The loaf made me so darn happy! Perfect! Easy! Super delicious!

After making two identical loaves and deeming my results not a fluke, I added a few more tweaks just to suit our tastes. First, I switched to 1/4 whole wheat flour, and 3/4 bread flour. Next, I added a teaspoon of sugar along with the 1/4 cup of sourdough starter. I have been baking the loaves covered for the first 20 minutes (with a large soup pot turned over) and the last 15-20 minutes uncovered. Brilliant. Serious 5 minutes a day bread that is perfect for sandwiches or toast. Yay!

I should have taken pictures but I am too lazy.
Here is the recipe I have worked out based on the recipes listed above that works for one 9" loaf of sandwich bread:

3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 t instant yeast
2t sea salt
2t sugar
1/4 cup sourdough starter (this is optional, I add it for flavor, the yeast should truly be enough leavening)
2 cups water

1. sift together all the dry ingredients (flours, yeast, salt, sugar)
2. combine water and sourdough starter
3. mix wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl - dough will be shaggy and quite wet, but elastic and pull away from sides of bowl.
4. cover with plastic wrap or damp towel for 12-18 hours.
5. butter a 9" loaf pan
6. flour work surface and turn dough out. dust middle of dough with flour (just enough so you can work with it.
7. very gently bring up sides of dough and shape it to aproximately the size of your pan, drop it in, seem side down.
8. cover with plastic or damp towel for 2 more hours.
9. preheat oven for 20 minutes to 475; dust top of loaf with flour and make a slash down the middle.
10.bake the loaf covered (either with a big soup pot or loosely with foil for 20 minutes, then remove cover, rotate bread and bake another 15-20 minutes.
11. turn bread out of pan and let it cool on a rack for a full 30 minutes before slicing.

Passing by the dog days

2011-07-16T21:18:00.002-04:00

"corn and bread, food and flocks, wool and clothing, health and strength, and peace and plenty"
- a blessing of the harvest, Scotland

I just like this. 'Kay?

Three Little Birds

2011-05-09T21:44:00.000-04:00

Hey World,

2011-04-13T20:49:00.003-04:00

Check me out!
Here we have one of Noel's poses for his spring school photos. I think it's the best one. We have an amazing kid. Last year, red eyes from crying...this year - supermodel!

Apologies for being slackers with posts. Being a first year teacher is kind of insane. Not more or less insane than I thought it might be. It's just the right amount of insane where I truly feel like I am paying my dues, yet, I am able to carry on from day to day with a smile (more or less). Plus, usually I like to unwind and not re-hash the craziness of my job, and these days blogging anything remotely interesting about teaching is scary. Who is reading this??? Will I be fired???

But, I am two days from Spring Break, and my brain is starting to recover already! Yay, brain! Soon, I will be able to hold a pleasant and rational conversation with another adult that does not include a) withholding what's really on my mind for fear of the flood of tears that is bound to follow, b) venting/ complaining/ going off on a 20 minute diatribe about "the problem with kids today" or "when I was a kid", or c) turning a simple, funny blog post into an EOG practice sesh.

Sheesh.

Hopefully we'll be posting more often!

I'd also like to share a link to my lovely friend Michele's new Etsy store: Vintage Camper . I highly recommend her soaps, having tried a number of them already. Good stuff. Perfect gift material (mother's day is only a few weeks away, hon).

Caramel Popcorn

2011-01-10T11:07:00.003-05:00

The best caramel popcorn recipe ever. From the New York Times Heritage Cookbook (1980) that I found at my dad's apartment.
The recipe is under the "New York" section, but I don't think New York is the only place where buttery sweet popcorn is popular. Here's the recipe:

3 T corn oil
1/2 cup hull-less yellow popcorn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t baking soda

1. preheat oven to 250
2. pop popcorn using oil and your standard popcorn popping method (my words, not quoting popcorn making instructions verbatim. please.)
3. Measure two and one-half quarts of the popcorn (eat the rest plain) and place in a large roasting pan or metal bowl. Place in oven and keep warm.
4. Melt the butter in a two-quart saucepan. Stir in the sugar, syrup and salt. Bring mixture to a boil an boil five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. Pour over the warm popcorn, mixing well to coat each piece.
5. Separate pieces of popcorn and place one layer only on two large baking sheets. Bake one hour. Cool popcorn completely (it crisps on standing). Store in airtight container.

you're welcome:)

Happy Snow Day

2011-01-10T10:34:00.004-05:00

It's my first snow day as a teacher...and I must say, it's just as fun as I'd imagined it would be!
We attempted to make a snowman, but the snow is too powdery. We let June play a bit unleashed in the backyard and still managed to find some clean snow to create maple snow for breakfast. It tasted great washed down with hot chocolate. Good times.

AZ for the holidays

2011-01-10T10:11:00.005-05:00

We had TWO visits from santa this year! First he came early on Christmas Eve morning right before we got on an airplane to see Grandma Gale! Then he visited Grandma's house! We all had a blast playing in Grandma's newly xeriscaped backyard, visiting Tombstone, "The Town Too Tough to Die" and Bisbee. Couldn't have had a better vacation:)
Here's a video of Uncle Jimmy flying his helicopter in Grandma's backyard.

Joyeux Noel

2010-12-19T19:27:00.000-05:00

Turkey Day

2010-12-01T19:44:00.006-05:00

We had lots of visitor for Thanksgiving! Jimmy, Shaun, Linda and Marshall all made it down for a feast of feasts. I forgot to take my annual photo of the actual feast itself, but here are some that Jimmy sent. And it was an excuse to test some new Photoshop actions I just got.

tricks or treats

2010-10-31T21:04:00.000-04:00

You wish you were this cool

2010-10-29T22:51:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T15:48:00.000-04:00

High Tide Flooding

2010-10-11T21:59:00.002-04:00

The combination of high tide and flood water coming downstream on the Cape Fear River. By the time we left the farmers market the water had reached a few of the stalls on Water Street.

Asteroids your interweb!

2010-10-11T21:45:00.003-04:00

Click here to play asteroids and shoot up our blog...or any other blog. We found this link on kottke.
arrow keys for direction, space bar to shoot. go for it.

Trails

2010-10-02T20:36:00.002-04:00

We went for a short hike at the bike park today.

lots of rain

2010-09-30T21:33:00.004-04:00

This week we've had 20+ inches of rain in Wilmington, NC. Roads have been flooded, the Cape Fear River is on top of the cobble streets of downtown and my neighbor across the street was skimboarding in his front yard this afternoon. It's been a while since I've watched rain come down day after day after day like this.

Now a word from our sponsor.

salty dogs

2010-07-24T14:00:00.007-04:00

I need another week or two at Nags Head with my family!
The first few pics were taken on the Cedar Island to Ocracoke Ferry - which we technically missed by 5 minutes (we were late leaving our house because our dear, beloved, best neighbor ever passed away during the night, and the funeral home needed access to our driveway...it poured down rain for just a few minutes right after the funeral home's vehicle left...the sky was sad, too) but the ferry boat captain turned back for us! So lucky!
Next, two pics of the sky as a storm rolled over South Nags Head. Beautiful. Love the sky and the weather at the Outer Banks.
The last pic is everybody's favorite and best uncle flying some radio control planes for the boys. See videos below for more excitement.

Radio OBX Installment

2010-07-23T08:39:00.005-04:00

2010-06-25T21:27:00.003-04:00

Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA

Sheep farmin, Long Valley, NJ

pizza night!

2010-06-25T21:09:00.004-04:00

Had to share this bit of genius that I discovered today: sourdough starter + grilling = the BEST PIZZA EVER. Absolutely, hands down, rivaling some of the tastiest pizzas I've eaten, I couldn't believe that I'd actually made it myself (except to look at it...it's tricky getting a grilled pizza to look neat).

Since I have this sourdough starter going, and was planning to make pizza today I did a little internet research about using the starter instead of regular dry yeast. Most recipes seem to call for equal amounts of starter and flour, a teaspoon of salt and a little olive oil. Simple enough. I didn't have the full 1 1/2 cups of starter most recipes suggested using, so I improvised using what little knowledge I have of how bread works. Here's the recipe I worked out:
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour (plus more for kneading/ flouring a work surface)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil

I added a little sugar to help it out, since I was light on starter. The dough can just get kneaded by a stand mixer with the dough hook until it comes together (sift dry ingredients together first, then add the starter, water and oil). Let it rise, covered, in an oiled bowl for 2 hours or so, form 2 balls, and let them rise independently a bit more. Light the grill, put all the coals on one side. Then roll out the 2 doughs to about 12" or so. I brushed the grill with some oil, but it probably isn't even important, once the dough forms a little crust, it'll come right up.
Put them on the grill one at a time - my sloppy technique was to flip them onto the grill from the cutting board they were resting on. After one side gets some char on it, flip it over and top it, then slide it to the cool side of the grill and cover for a few minutes, until the toppings are melty and the bottom is charred, too.
That stuff is so good, I have no pictures, cause we ate it all. I love pizza night.

All in all, I'm loving having a sourdough starter on hand. It's just fun to say "wild yeast." I've collected "wild yeast" and with it I'm making crazy good pancakes, pizza and bread. Forget your lame, store bought yeast...we've got "wild yeast" up in our kitchen! Wooohooo!

2010-06-23T15:49:00.003-04:00

loft mountain, PM, first s'more by the campfire:

loft mountain, AM, still snuggling in the tent (it was in the 50s/60s!)

noel takes pictures with his bean

2010-06-02T10:03:00.005-04:00

his bean camera, that is.

Sprinkler time in AZ

2010-05-26T21:44:00.002-04:00

2010-05-24T08:44:00.006-04:00

The beginnings of a sourdough starter...we'll see how this works out.

I started collecting parts for this "around town" bike about three years ago. I bought a new fork for it last weekend and the rest fell into place pretty easily. Luckily I had enough used parts to get it to work. Most of the parts are from other broken old bikes, which is what gives it that beater bike vibe.

Pickling real kosher dill pickles and various other veggies. Experimenting with lacto-fermentation...

3 Bicycles Creative Tee Design

2010-04-14T22:32:00.002-04:00

Here's a sneak peek! I think I like this even better than my old Vectorgun shirt?!

happy birthday Snap!

2010-03-26T12:59:00.007-04:00

one of the first warmer days, ft. fisher.

our one and only snowfall

crabs cooking up in some gumbo, noel says, "chomp, chomp"

his first easter egg hunt...jellybeans=YUMMY!

another year older...Snap!'s still chugging along, although we've definitely slacked the past few months. I've been student teaching and T has been making some big changes to his work situation. But all is well and here are some fun pics from Feb. and March to prove it!

Chile

2010-03-02T22:41:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking about our trip to Chile the past few days. Just trying to send out some good e-mojo to our friends down south.

balancing my diet

2010-01-17T20:18:00.002-05:00

Eating healthy is usually pretty boring. Lately my tummy has been very happy swinging back and forth between the extremes of super uber healthy and super uber cookies.

I highly recommend this mango smoothie recipe from Martha Stewart. I was maybe going to try to do this whole body action thing. But then that didn't happen. But these smoothies have become a permanent part of my life. When you add the kale leaf, it turns the whole thing green, which makes you feel even healthier, even though they just taste super yummy. Oh, and instead of soy milk I put in oat milk, just cause. It's better.

And then, after I've been healthy all day, I throw some of these kitchen sink cookies in the oven. Then I can go to sleep hap hap happy. They are the best, and yes, it's my very own recipe (sort of).

Workin' it

2010-01-04T22:56:00.003-05:00

In the past few years I've had a habit of jumping from job to job, but in 1993 I worked at Toy R Us for 1 day. Not sure why I hated it so much? After Toys R Us I got a job as a telemarketer raising money for the "Policemen's Benevolent Association". I was soooo bad at telemarketing that I got fired after 2 months.

Any good odd job stories? Comment!

xmas morning in full effect

2009-12-28T21:23:00.007-05:00

His first train set from Aunt Shaun! He was asking for this one for a week...ahh, sweet relief:)

Setting up his xmas gift from Uncle Jimmy, an awesome Lego/ Thomas train set...

...watching a movie on my new laptop, with a good grip on his new bff, Scout the dog, standing amidst one of two new train sets. This was taken just before his energy level from all the chocolate, panettone and present excitement was waning: the beginning of the end!

western nc * cozy family solstice * nieces and nephews

2009-12-23T19:56:00.006-05:00

turkey day wrap-up and xmas warm-up

2009-12-08T12:54:00.008-05:00

noel has been practicing yoga with me; here while reading a book he pauses to put his hands in prayer position and say "ommmmm" for the camera.

our thanksgiving triumph: massaged kale salad, vegetarian shepard's pie, sweet potato rosti, oyster stuffing and a big bottle of dark Belgian ale.

maple cookie ice box pie. mmmmmmmmmmmm. genius.

on our way home from noel's school's holiday program and picking out a xmas tree. he finally decided to put on his santa hat, sing jinle bells, and "smile." well, this is the face he makes when you ask him to smile for a picture. you can blame todd for this method;)

flock of turkeys

2009-11-25T09:26:00.002-05:00

happy thanksgiving, turkeys.

Lego PSA

2009-11-17T15:41:00.003-05:00

The message is "Don't run red lights", but I would also say "Wear a Helmet!"

birthday boy

2009-11-05T13:30:00.004-05:00

state fair fun

2009-10-26T11:02:00.008-04:00

here are some of our faves from this weekend at the NC State Fair. and a silly face at dinner.

trick or treat?

2009-10-21T11:58:00.003-04:00

we needs to stock up on these hamburger flavored candies for the trick or treaters!

Halloween Music

2009-10-20T20:45:00.006-04:00

Curse Walk is fun Halloween album for download over at bandcamp. Track no.7 sounds like a Halloween song if Paul Simon were to write one. Nice artwork as well.

a political moment

2009-10-07T13:08:00.004-04:00

I'm sad that our gov't is being so apathetic about health care reform. It's another one of those topics, that, in my opinion, is not debatable. Everybody has a right to receive medical care. Period. Why don't we have a single payer system? Not because it wouldn't work, but because of greed. That's sick. Click here to sign a petition and get more information about a single payer health care system in the U.S.

I will get down from the soapbox now.

how you doin?

2009-10-05T09:44:00.007-04:00

Sunday morning pancakes and syrup

"ride! ride! ride!"

sorta creepy

super cutie

hay bale maze fun

september weekend

2009-09-20T14:45:00.008-04:00

lake waccamaw

fall poblano harvest

everybody's new favorite soup

my sister is AWESOME.

2009-09-18T10:13:00.005-04:00

I am feeling so modern today.

So, we've been using hand me down cameras for a few years. And it's sad, but the cameras have worked just fine. But our luck ran out a few months ago. All the old timers gave up on us. Out of extreme frugality, we have been putting off buying a new one - after all, our phones take photos, right? Then, yesterday we got in the mail the most amazing wonderful fancy new bad*ss little Sony Cyber-shot 12.1 megapixel, double anti-blur technology, high sensitivity ISO3200, smile detecting, super user friendly, super cute digital camera - from my siter!!! And she did it for no other reason than she happened to have some coupons for Staples. That's a cool sister. Big big hugs are being sent her way.
I took some shots last night just to play around with it. The most exciting feature, in my book at least, it the "gourmet" setting, represented by a little knife and fork, of course. In this setting, the macro lens comes on, and allows you to take a nice little shot, with no flash, even in low light. Beau-ti-ful!!!
So, I give you: the honey bear (taken in the evening, no flash)and the last cardamom, raisin, pumpkin seed roll with maple cream cheese frosting. More to come. Thanks Shaun!!!

Cell Phone Photos

2009-09-07T15:40:00.003-04:00

I took these a long time ago, but here ya go. One is on old Rt 66, west of Flagstaff. One is Noel checking out some 3d.

hurricane bill

2009-08-19T16:56:00.002-04:00

ok. so. ummmm. my dad's name is bill. and the hurricane's name is bill. and we just very recently put dad's ashes into the atlantic ocean. and this is just about the time of year we have typically gone for our family beach vacation at the outer banks which has been known to get hit by a hurricane. and my dad is pretty famous for being kind of a disaster. i'm just saying. this is simultaneously awesome/ surreal/ disturbing.

hopefully we just get lots of nice waves for surfing and nobody gets hurt.

what's up, dad? we miss you, too:)

outer banks relaxation tips

2009-08-17T11:52:00.011-04:00

We've been slacking big time on our blog. Our camera is busted, and that's a lame excuse, but it's true. We've really been doing tons and tons all summer!
Noel and I spent 2 weeks in Tempe, AZ with my mom; I went up to B'more for a Dead Milkmen show/family reunion; we visited Todd's parents in NJ, saw Hair on Broadway and ate dinner at Babbo; Todd and his dad painted the whole house; and finally we spent a week with my family at the Outer Banks.
That last bit was something that happens every year, but this year was different, cause my dad wasn't there. Well, he was definitely there in spirit. It was an amazing, relaxing week. We ate lots of good food and had cake (almost) every night. We sat on the porch lots and put on shoes rarely. Just like dad liked to do it.
Here are some great pics that my brother took. Thanks for sharing, Jimmy:)

compost type-B

2009-07-19T21:05:00.010-04:00

I installed a pet waste composter next to my regular compost bin today. Watch this video to learn how. It was really easy, and now there will be less plastic bags going into the trash every week. Not sure how this particular design would work if you don't have a yard. There's got to be a way.

Moonwalk Trance

2009-07-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

The Eternal Moonwalk put me into a MJ trance. Check it out and submit your own moonwalk.

Blue Porch

2009-06-24T23:03:00.001-04:00

Thanks for Voting

2009-06-16T22:07:00.005-04:00

Thanks for taking our house color poll. What other blog gives you results like this!?

Strawberry Season

2009-06-02T23:11:00.003-04:00

So yummy. Noel liked them so much he was putting multiple strawberries in his mouth stem and all.

Good Housekeeping

2009-05-26T21:31:00.007-04:00

We bought a 1942 Good Housekeeping cookbook at a yard sale this weekend. It's the first cookbook I've seen with a Wartime Supplement. Although wartime cookbooks were not uncommon at the time.

A lot of the tips are things that make sense in everyday use, like "cheat the garbage can in every conceivable way" and "plan meals ahead to cut down on trips to the market".

Other topics reveal more about wartime living in the 40's:

-     Don't Hoard Spices, Spices Substitutions Chart
-     Assist in Canteen Work for Our Service Men
-     Food Rationing
-     Tin Cans Are Precious
-     Save every scrap of fat. When you have a pound or so sell it to your butcher.

It's time to stop with the swine flu jokes already.

2009-05-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

Cast a Vote

2009-05-05T21:25:00.008-04:00

We're going to paint our house in the next few weeks. We've gone back and forth on colors, but we still can't decide. WE NEED HELP! What is your favorite color combination? Suggestions are welcome, but cast a vote as well please!

Cast your vote on the right side of the page --->

april cutie pies

2009-04-19T10:51:00.007-04:00

this month has been crazy and full of sweet springtime fun. here are a few pics:

our new niece, lola james. she's rocking some lavender chucks that grandma gale crocheted for her. she is toooooooo cute. it's ridiculous.

getting a better view of the azalea fest parade downtown.

noel was having more fun checking out this bus than watching the parade.

fluffy marsmallow topping from a smore's cheesecake. sticky=good.

it was hot enough yesterday that we broke out the sprinkler for noel's first taste of backyard sprinkler fun. he was loving it! behind him is the brand new raised bed garden that todd built for me. we'll see how the garden plays out this year...wilmington has been tricky for us to figure out...but we aren't going to give up a vegetable and herb garden, yet. fingers crossed big time.

bake bread

2009-03-29T13:43:00.004-04:00

Lately, i have been obsessed with increasing the level of deliciousness of the food we eat while decreasing the amount of money we spend on food. i guess it comes along with a need to get out of a rut of cooking the same old things repeatedly, and also to shift from heavier winter fare to lighter spring time foods.
Anyways, a few weeks ago, our friend regina visited us and made us a massaged kale salad from cynthia lair's book Feeding the Whole Family. it was so crazy and good that i hunted down the book (i forgot to write down the title while she was here...so that meant a little digging). it's a pretty cool cookbook. then, i started reading food blogs (like serious eats, for example) and the next thing you know, i'm baking bread every few days. like sprouted grain bread, or this simple, but insanely delicious recipe from Feeding the Whole Family:
* it's a great way to use up leftover cooked grains, like oatmeal, rice, whatever...this batch I made using leftover short grain brown rice, another we used wheat berries.
Homemade Whole Grain Bread
Starter Dough:
2 cups cooked whole grains
2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter
1 T sea salt
1 T yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour (more or less)
Blend grains and water in a blender of food processor until creamy; pour into a large mixing bowl. Mix in oil, salt, and yeast. Add enough flour to make the mixture look like thick-cooked cereal. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave for 12 to 24 hours. Once the dough is fermented, it can be refrigerated for up to a week before using to make bread.
To Make the Bread:
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 or 4 cups unbleached white flour or whole wheat flour
After 12 to 24 hours, add sweetener to starter dough and stir. Stir in whole wheat flour. As you add teh white flour, the mixture will become difficult to stir. Knead it by hand in the bowl and continue to add white flour. When dough is less sticky, transfer to a floured surface and knead 10 to 15 minutes, or until dough is soft and springy, but not too sticky.
Wash and dry mixing bowl and oil it. Place dough in bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
To make the loaves, lightly oil 2 loaf pans. Divide dough in half. Punch down and shape the dough into a flat rectangle. Then fold in the top and bottom half to form a long seam down the middle. Pinch the seam together. Tuck the ends of the rectangle under and fit into the loaf pan. Flatten the dough into the pan with the back of your hand.
To Bake the Bread:
1 t water
1 t maple syrup or honey
1 t melted butter
1/4 t sea salt
Mix water, syrup, butter, and salt in a small cup or bowl. and coat the top of each loaf with this mixture. Cover and let rise in pans for 45 to 60 minutes until the loaves have doubled in size. Test the bread for readiness. If you press the dough and it wants to stay in, but still has a little spring, it's ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 350. Bake 45-50 minutes. Bread will come out of pans after 5 minutes of cooling. Let it cool 30 minutes before slicing.

*nothing* smells better than baking bread. not even bacon. for real.

spring peepers?

2009-03-28T17:50:00.003-04:00

While we were riding our bikes over to the playground with Noel today, we heard this really strange noise as we passed by a creek. We found tons of frogs (or toads?) having a love-fest in the little wetlands area in the park. It was pretty cool, and reminded us of hunting for spring peepers with our friend Joe back in Baltimore. Are these the same as spring peepers? I made a little video with my phone...you can't see much, but I really just wanted to capture the sound.

Snap! Anniversary

2009-03-26T22:56:00.008-04:00

Our first post on Snap! was on March 26, 2005! Without getting too sappy about all of our adventures (and mis-adventures), some of my faves over the years have been:

march march march march

2009-03-24T10:57:00.004-04:00

what's up? it's march and our porch is newly screened in! hooray! take that, mosquitoes! now that it's warming up, we're very excited at the prospect of morning cups of coffee and evening beers enjoyed out on the porch...without being eaten alive by bugs.

also, we're expecting the arrival of our new niece any day now...so noel and i are eagerly anticipating our visit up to maryland to meet her.

here's what the porch looks like from the outside. it's nice. we still plan to paint the house blue (fjord) (that's just the primer coat for now) and the porch may change color as well.

Mountain Bike Race

2009-02-13T21:01:00.004-05:00

I rode in my first mountain bike race Sunday. It was a blast. I really haven't been on the trails very much this winter, so I was worked from riding 12 miles at a less than casual pace. However, the sore muscles were worth it. It was fun jostling and bouncing around with fellow mtbr's. — I'm becoming known as "the guy without back brakes". Also I rode with a 9 gears during the race. I ended up liking the paired down setup for this flat-ish course.

winter sunset. baby's first grand canyon visit

2009-02-06T12:26:00.004-05:00

Can't believe Todd hadn't posted this one! We had just arrived at the Grand Canyon as the sun was going down, and raced to get Noel's first Grand Canyon photo. Here he is, looking a bit confused while some French tourists are encouraging him to smile:) Pretty.

sometimes...

2009-01-29T19:04:00.004-05:00

...you don't feel like sharing.
The lack of posts lately can be chalked up to the sad times we've been dealing with lately. On Jan.13 my dad passed away. He was sick for a long while, and it was time for him to leave us.
Just ordered some cookies from our neighbor, and it got me thinking about the girl scout cookie poll - one of our most popular posts to date. Dad had to chime in; trefoils were his all time favorite. I can picture the stack of cookie boxes hidden down in his workshop.
Anyways, it's been an exhausting month. Yay, February!
-S

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T22:45:00.007-05:00

We're back from Arizona. We had a great time visiting with family in Phoenix and the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff and the Northern region of Arizona got hit with a snowstorm right before we arrived, so there was about 8-12 inches of snow on the ground when we got to the Grand Canyon... Noel had his first romp in snow!

We managed to squeeze a lot of activities into a relatively relaxing 10 days. I even got in 30 miles of mountain biking in thanks to Suzy's cousin Kirk. I was spoiled by the single speed, steel Gary Fisher 29er he lent me. I didn't think I would like riding with only one gear... but I really did.

yuletide cheer

2008-12-21T22:24:00.007-05:00

U.S. Southwest Gallery

2008-11-22T21:25:00.005-05:00

My brother just got back from his 5 month stint as a fire lookout on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. He has a pretty large gallery of photos online from his travels around Arizona and Utah. I'm in a couple of them too!

b-day cupcakes

2008-11-14T02:17:00.003-05:00

Yeeeehaw!

2008-11-05T08:22:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! Everybody chipped in and got you a new president!

Early Voting in NC

2008-11-02T21:58:00.005-05:00

Suzy and I waited in line for 4 hours to vote on Saturday morning! It was the last day of early voting in North Carolina - hundreds and hundreds of voters were lined up around the block. So far, from what I heard, everyone around Wilmington had at least a 3 and a half hour wait. There were only six voting machines where we were... c'mon!

walking is new

2008-10-29T23:26:00.003-04:00

...and funny faces cannot be ignored.

on rotation

2008-10-24T23:29:00.004-04:00

Suzy bought me the Fleet Foxes LP for my birthday, it's been on heavy rotation at the house. I think I'm driving her crazy with it... view a stop motion video from one of the singles below.

Maple Doughnuts, Hot Cider, Foliage

2008-10-17T01:38:00.005-04:00

The bags are still halfway packed from a trip to PA. I was best man at my friend Mike's wedding... It was a reunion of sorts, so it was nice finally catching up with, and hearing about some high school friends that I've been out of touch with.

Maple doughnuts, hot cider, foliage... all good Fall trimmings were on hand up there.

procrastination post

2008-10-04T00:36:00.005-04:00

need a break for a minute... I just noticed that this will be post #131 for Snap! Woo hoo. We originally started Snap! in 2005 when we moved to NM so we could keep everyone on the coasts in the loop. Since most blogs have a lifespan similar to that of many small insects, I'm a little surprised Snap! is still going.

Also, we had a great time as usual at the Outer Banks this year. Jimmy took some really fun 3d photos that I will post soon. Lastly, here are some odds and ends that I've been into lately:

Sharkwater - One of the better documentaries I've seen in a while.

Guernica - An online art/politics magazine.

Chainlove - One great bike deal at a time.

Spooky Tooth bike engine kit

2008-09-20T01:19:00.003-04:00

Recently, a friend at work finished assembling his Spooky Tooth bicycle engine kit and has been riding in to work about every other day. He put it on an older Specialized Stumpjumper. 150 mpg!! and it goes pretty fast at 35mph+. Needless to say I'm jealous, so much fun.

10 steps to a fascist america

2008-09-15T21:11:00.008-04:00

Tonight, as a requirement for an education class I'm taking, I had the privilege of hearing Naomi Wolf talk about her book, "The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot." Wow. It scared the shit out of me. And got me all worked up. I strongly encourage you all to check out this interview she did with Democracy Now.
I am off to the bookstore to get my copy (and to check out her follow-up, which is coming out tomorrow, as well "Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries")

K.
PS: When in doubt, just ask Wonder Woman what she thinks.

from Salon:
Wonder Woman on Sarah Palin

"Don't get me started. She's the anti-Wonder Woman. She's judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they've got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that's just not what Wonder Woman is about. Hillary Clinton is a lot more like Wonder Woman than Mrs. Palin. She did it all, didn't she?

"No one has the right to dictate, particularly in this country, to force your own personal views upon the populace -- religious views. I think that is suppressive, oppressive, and anti-American. We are the loyal opposition. That's the whole point of this country: freedom of speech, personal rights, personal freedom. Nor would Wonder Woman be the person to tell people how to live their lives. Worry about your own life! Worry about your own family! Don't be telling me what I want to do with mine.

"I like John McCain. But this woman -- it's anathema to me what she stands for. I think America should be very afraid. Very afraid. Separation of church and state is the one thing the creators of the Constitution did agree on -- that it wasn't to be a religious government. People should feel free to speak their minds about religion but not dictate it or put it into law."

-- Actress and singer Lynda Carter, best known for playing Wonder Woman in the '70s, responding to a question from Philadelphia Magazine about what she makes of Republican comparisons of Sarah Palin to the superhero.

I'm so glad and stoked that our teacher decided to substitute attending this talk for our regular class this week. It was amazing, scary, inspiring and thought provoking. And I don't think I would have gone on my own and had T baby sit Noel had it not been required for class. Kick ass.

Oh...and here's a direct link to a site that is working to retain our democracy: americanfreedomcampaign.org

Hanna Hits Wilmington

2008-09-05T22:19:00.005-04:00

At 1pm the waves were overhead, dicey, and rough. Light drizzle would intermittenly turn into a downpour as the bands of Hanna rotated over us. I'm really looking forward to clean surfing conditions as the storm goes inland and the wind goes offshore later this weekend.

The wind should start to hit 70mph around 2am - I'm sure it will wake me up so I can take some soggy photos.

Arizona Utah week

2008-09-04T23:15:00.008-04:00

I finally put up a few photos from my trip out to visit my brother. (if you didn't already know) He's a fire lookout at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Also, I traded in my sea legs in for two wheels and got a ride in on Gooseberry Mesa slickrock! (not my pics of Gooseberry, but you get the idea) Better than Moab? Quite possibly.

Next the whole fam is off to the Outer Banks this coming week! With Hanna, Ike and Josephine churning in the Atlantic there should be ridable waves all week. (if we dont get evacuated first) I'm getting spoiled.

just good old fashioned web surfing

2008-07-17T14:34:00.002-04:00

soooo........anyways, here are a few links to pages that i've been kind of obsessed with lately. summer + one (fairly) easy online political science class + the baby's nap time = good old fashioned web surfing

CHOW

You Grow Girl

100 Mile Diet

summer reading

2008-07-10T09:25:00.002-04:00

Picked up a book at the library a few days ago that is so good I'm posting about it. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. So good, you will want to put down that can of carbonated high fructose corn syrup (or soda pop, whatever) and plan a trip to your local farmer's market this weekend.

Yeah, I'm so obsessed with food that some of my favorite summer reading revolves around food. Good counterparts to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle might be The Grapes of Wrath and The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine.

Of course, all this talk about food and where it comes from and how far it travels to get to your plate is nice and relevant considering fuel prices at the moment and the fact that they may never being going down again. It's a little late in the season, but not too early to get inspired for next year, to plant a big old kitchen/vegetable/victory/ heirloom garden in place of part of your grassy backyard that you hate mowing anyways. Just saying.
-S

Giggles!

2008-07-05T19:10:00.003-04:00

Summer Mixes

2008-07-05T11:22:00.003-04:00

Summer Mix Series is back for another year. Download music and or create your own mix. Mucho gusto!

Cape Lookout

2008-06-18T22:36:00.010-04:00

Shaun, Charlie, and Suzy.

Noel had too much La Chouffe. Can't blame him.

Lots of shells, very few people at the southern tip of Cape Lookout.

long time, no see!

2008-05-29T18:22:00.009-04:00

we've been just a bit busy, you know, school, garden, baby, work, dog, house. there's always something to do in a spare moment these days. so the blog has been neglected. sorry! anyways, here's some snaps of what we've been up to lately:

we had a campout at the beach back in april with some friends - complete with a fire and marshmallow roasting! noel was a trooper on his first campout ever...he slept great in the great outdoors. and he slept better than his mom and dad, too. here we are first thing in the morning. see, mom looks rough, but noel is spot on gorgeous!

wildlife! this guy has been sleeping over our front door. we don't really know what kind of bird it is...any guesses? it seems like it's a baby something or other.

and this right here is everybody's favorite time of day: todd feeding noel his din din. good times.

Anywho, those are a few of the more photogenic moments of late. What have you been up to?

bad idea

2008-04-13T20:27:00.003-04:00

On our way to Southport, NC we saw this sign. Feeding gators seems like such a bad idea that there wouldn't need to be a sign.

March pics

2008-04-01T22:15:00.005-04:00

looks like...

2008-03-17T21:51:00.001-04:00

...the boys had a fun st. patty's day.

Irish Soda Bread

2008-03-17T19:16:00.003-04:00

Homemade by Suzy... Having an Irish feast tonight. Yum.

girl scout cookie poll

2008-02-26T13:54:00.004-05:00

as a former girl scout myself, i feel the need to address the wording on the poll...shortbreads are the ones called 'trefoils,' samoas are now called 'caramel de-lites' (this seems to indicate that they are light...that cannot be possible), and peanut butter sandwich cookies are, of course, 'tagalongs' {not 'do-si-dos'} (at least they were back in the day...i have not seen a box in a while, and as indicated by the poll, neither has anyone else.)

that's all. just can't change the poll once people have started to vote. yup.
-s

ps: i hated being in the girl scouts. just sayin.

lunar eclipse

2008-02-20T22:45:00.002-05:00

It was a little overcast here, but after 5 or 6 trys I sort of got an okay photo. Maybe.

Century 21 Sweyer & Associates, Wilmington - Warning

2008-02-16T23:17:00.001-05:00

Don't rent from Century 21 Sweyer & Associates, in Wilmington North Carolina. Ripoff all the way to the bank. They nickel and dimed me at every possible turn. Fees, rental costs, unprofessional. Ripoff alert. Scam warning. Stay away.

3 month old time

2008-02-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

noel and t hanging out on the ramp our friend brian built in his garage...

noel shreddin

RIP Sheldon Brown

2008-02-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

I've used his website countless times over the years. A bicycle guru and a true inspiration, he will be missed. More about Sheldon here.

suspenders are ridiculous

2008-01-18T11:33:00.000-05:00

A new look for 2008

2008-01-02T22:09:00.000-05:00

The same fun blog with 25% More for Free! Actually, I was just too tempted by all the widgets (mostly the poll) offered by Blogger in Draft. Our old blog wasn't compatible, and after looking at our green blog for over two years I think its time for a change. Also, Happy New Year!

cowboy quilt

2007-12-28T15:46:00.001-05:00

baby enjoying the beautiful cowboy quilt my aunt susan made for him and wearing the cowboy sleep sack from todd's aunt gloria. we have some very sweet aunts. -s