Shan

Shan
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's Shan, the dog who is sick. He has lost a lot of weight - Mom and Dad said today was an okay day for him though. He has a bad hacking cough.

Construction

Construction
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Though my Mom warned me, I was still taken aback a little by the view outside my window now that I'm back in Singapore. It's quite a difference from the view outside my bedroom in the country.

Tomato Mozarella and Edamame salads

Tomato Mozarella and Edamame salads
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Last lunch on the deck in a while.

New feeders

New feeders
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here are my new feeders - we had bees so this is bee proof.

Bulb remover

Bulb remover
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian also changed all the bulbs. He hesitated about getting this $20 bulb remover but I told him with so many bulbs to change, he'd be glad we got this - and he was. He changed almost 100 bulbs.

The new dining table

The new dining table
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian hurt his back but still managed to get our Ikea dining table going.

Bulbs

Bulbs
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian and I went to two Home Depots to pick up new bulbs - these are energy saving bulbs and they are on sale. When we changed them in the condo, we saved one-quarter on electricity, so we wanted to change all our lights in this house as well.

Sunset at Kays Mill

Sunset at Kays Mill
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I'm going to really miss this view.

Owings Mills Volunteer Fire fighting

Owings Mills Volunteer Fire fighting
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The interesting about a lot of fire departments in smaller areas like where I live is that firefighting is not done by people who do it professionally, but rather by volunteers, who do it in the free time.

Finches on sock

Finches on sock
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

More finches on the sock!

Jade on pillow with toy

Jade on pillow with toy
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Jade left this morning. A came by and picked her up and Jade was delighted to see her Mom! This is the new toy we got her yesterday.

My Net access was down yet again. We had to go out and get a router today and finally the problem has been fixed. Now we can return the modem to Comcast (which we are 'renting' for a fee every month and no way is their modem brand new even if they say it is) and we have our own.

Better Pecan Pie

Better Pecan Pie
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here was the pecan pie I made last night - much better than the one that suntaneye and her husby had the last time they came. I have the oven temperature thermometer now and can watch the oven temperature so it didn't burn.

On another note, good luck for your exam suntaneye!

Pan baked fries

Pan baked fries
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I also made pan baked fries - I tell myself they're healthier than deep fried ones. These were all gone because everyone (including me!) seem to be unable to resist fried potatoes.

I love eating on the deck - by the time I next come back, it's probably going to be too chilly to sit out there unfortunately. As it is, the temperature is starting to drop in the evenings and some friends have been using sweaters.

Garbanzo Bean Burgers

Garbanzo Bean Burgers
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made garbanzo bean burgers - which we just ate as cutlets last night. Unfrotunately, you can see several of them are burnt. The first lot which put on medium low heat as advised burnt much faster than the 7 to 10 minutes advised in the cookbook. By 6 minutes they were completely burnt. Also, I don't think 1 teaspoon of oil is enough. The second batch was better. By the third batch, I decided to rub the whole thing in breadcrumbs (and they already had breadcrumbs in them) - the recipe said to leave it on the moist side, but then again, what exactly is the moist side? The third batch was the charm - rubbed in breadcrumbs, with more oil and by watching them carefully, they didn't turn our charred.

Everyone kindly ate most of them - even the burnt ones! The taste was delicious though.

Stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

W, A and K came over last night bearing food and wine. W& A also came over to make stuffed peppers - which were absolutely delicious. We also put the blender suntaneye gave us to good use and made margaritas - since it was warm yesterday, it was a lovely time for 'ritas on the deck.

Simian and Jade

Simian and Jade
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Unfortunately Jade cannot walk too far because she's prone to heat exhaustion. She does like walking around the garden very much.

Ricotta cheesecake

Ricotta cheesecake
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made a ricotta cheesecake when G and M came - it tasted like a sponge cake with cheese from a new recipe. Not bad but not my favourite.

Soy sprouts and tofu salad

Soy sprouts and tofu salad
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We sat on the deck and ate yesterday. Simian had the empanadas and shared my soy sprouts and tofu salad with peanuts and edamame. I love soy sprouts!

M and Jade

M and Jade
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Jade loves people - anytime anyone is visiting she's super happy and when they leave, she tries to climb into their car. Plus she cries whenever anyone goes. She especially seems to miss Simian - she sat at the door and whines when he leaves even though I'm in the house. She also seems to eat better when everyone is sitting on the deck eating with her.

Here she is kissing M - she practically climbed all over M!

Finch on sock

Finch on sock
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

As I sit here typing this, there are actually two finches on the sock. The word has gone out via the bird grapevine and we're getting more finches at the sock.

Tummy inspection time

Tummy inspection time
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Internet went down again - Comcast promised that it would take 24 hours to go up but it took almost 36 :( No wonder everyone complains about Comcast - and it's not even cheap.

Simian went to work for a while yesterday and I stayed at home with Jade. This is from Saturday night when G & M came - and brought empanadas for dinner which M made. Gorgeous - we ate them all before I took photos. Here's a photo of Jade having the all important tummy inspection time

Roughhousing

Roughhousing
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Jade is very affection - here she is trying to kiss Simian after drinking out of the toilet :)

Slept on our new mattress last night - bliss!

Playing

Playing
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Jade has had several visitors already. G & M came home with Simian after all of them went to the state fair.

K came by and we went to look for a creek nearby - we got lost, stopped by a neighbour's, got a tour of the house and then got directions and went into the creek but it was getting dark so we went home after a short walk. We both managed to get our shoes wet. We had wanted to take Jade but weren't sure of the terrain so we wanted to check it out first - good thing we did.

We had pizza on the deck while Jade had her dinner.

Jade asleep in study

Jade asleep in study
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Jade is now napping in the study. I put up a sock full of nyjer seeds (finches love them) yesterday and I have had some business today. Will take a photo!

I also now know why we have so many hummingbirds and finches - they love thistle and our garden has been taken over by the plant.

One of the mockingbirds has learnt to imitate a dog which K realised. She asked if one of our neighbours has a dog and it has. I also saw a bunny on the lawn today and when we went for a jog, there was a whole herd of deer down the road.

Jade in the morning

Jade in the morning
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's Jade this morning - Simian walked her the minute he got up and he said that she was very excited. However, when he and K left, she whined and then she seemed to get very sleepy. She's now taking a nap. R mentioned she does go back to sleep after the morning walk so I think that's normal (I hope!).

Jade in bed

Jade in bed
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We have two guests tonight - K is spending the night, and so is Jade. Here she is on her bed with her new toy.

Chocolate Tart

Chocolate Tart
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

When I ordered some eye cream recently, it came with a subscription to Gourmet magazine. I saw this gorgeous recipe and had to try it. It tasted as good as the magazine promised.

Maple Pecan bread

Maple Pecan bread
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It was lovely and sunny today - perfect day to make bread.

Tempeh

tempeh
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Yes you can get tempeh here - and I used it to make vegetarian chilli. I used a recipe I found on the Net and tweaked it to add more kick. Our friends R and K came over for dinner. Simian especially enjoyed it and in fact, I didn't have time to take a photo of it :)

Simian and Sophie

Simian and Sophie
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We dropped by the apartment to pick up the mail and went to visit our old neighbours. Here's Sophie, cuddling up with Simian.

Oven temperature

Oven temperature
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I baked today as our ex-landlord is in hospital and we wanted to visit. Simian already stopped in yesterday. I used my digital meat thermometer to check on the oven temperature ($4 from Lowes!) and found that the temperature is a lot hotter than what it shows. The reading on the oven says 315 degrees Fahrenheit but the thermometer shows it's almost 50 degrees hotter.

Simian says we have insurance of some kind to cover repairs so I can just get someone in to fix it.

Home made Lentil Soup

Home made Lentil Soup
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made lentil soup tonight for dinner - another recipe from Super Natural Cooking.

When we were at H-mart the other night, we picked up a bunch of lovely vegetables, only to find when we got home that we didn't have them. The place is always packed on weekends - and we must have grabbed someone else's bag. Instead of my chard, green beans and tiny eggplants (for curry) we got a bag of zucchini and a bag of cucumbers - Simian's 'favourite'. So when I reached in, thinking we had more zucchini, I found that instead it was cucumbers and decided to substitute them for potatoes.

Mockingbird

Mockingbird
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Great excitement of the day - managed to identify the bird in my yard. I realised one of the birds has learnt to imitate the door chime, but it was only today that I realised it was a mockingbird.

My Mom and I were just talking about doves and how in the bird world, they're not really the smartest birds there are. I also mentioned that apparently quite a few birds fly into windows. So when I was making dinner, and heard a thud, I kind of guessed what had happened. I saw a dazed dove sitting on my drying rack but he looked okay. When I went out to check, he flew off, so he was still mobile.

Our new mattress arrived - only for the delivery guy to point out it was the wrong size. There was a mistake so they took it away again and the new one comes later on in the week.

Edgar Allan Poe site

Edgar Allan Poe site
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I took the Metro down town with Simian today to handle some administrative things (income tax, bank accounts, etc). I have to say that our experience with the tax people has been impressive - they are very helpful with any queries and are professional.

The subway reminded me of Singapore - No eating, drinking, music without headphones. The difference is that they warn you that you can get arrested if you break the rules.

As we didn't have the car, we walked down a few blocks to one of the bank branches because the first bank we went to was too crowded, and I came across the site where Edgar Allan Poe died. We've driven by it so many times but have never seen it - which goes to show how seldom we walk in the area even though it's a few blocks from where Simian works and where we used to live.

Sign

Sign
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

If we carried peanut dust on our clothes, technically the children in the neighbourhood could also get sick. I wonder if this is a way to stop us from taking peanuts home?

Peanuts

Peanuts
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

You help yourself to the peanuts from the big box and then throw them in the tub on the way out - reminded me a little of the Long Bar at the Raffles.

Peanuts and fries

Peanuts and fries
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We stopped by 5 Guys Fries on the way back (Simian and I raved so much about it). Here's the large fries compared to the smaller one - and there were more fries in the bag!

My grilled cheese burger was even better today.

Blackberries

Blackberries
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

There was surprisingly very sparse vegetation - and frankly not much to look at in terms of flora and fauna. I was also busy trying not to trip over my feet. It turns out Catoctin is mostly secondary forest so it really wasn't very scenic as compared to say Seneca State Creek Park which I enjoyed a lot more.

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's the view from Chimney Rock - another of the lookouts.

Wolf Rock sign

Wolf Rock sign
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Climbing Wolf Rock

Climbing Wolf Rock
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here were Simian and W trying to climb Wolf Rock - it's not very tall but you do normally need ropes.

Breakfast

Breakfast
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We had some friends over to go for a walk at Catoctin Mountain Park. I had pancakes and also an edamame salad and a lime peanut salad. We ate on the deck and the hummingbirds came up close.

Lime peanut salad

Lime peanut salad
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We stocked up at H-mart and I came home and made this salad from Super Natural Cooking which I had been hankering after. It was easy to make and really lovely. I got to use my brandywine tomato (I kept the other) and some of the other tomatoes we got at the farmer's market.

We also heated up the cauliflower soup and added in some corn - and just when it started to boil, the pot burst! It was an old pot of Simian's which we had used to store the soup and it was definitely oven safe - no idea what happened. Simian cleaned up the mess and the soup was relegated to the trash - though it smelt so good.

Durian!

Durian!
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Yes H-mart did have Durian! We decided to buy one as we have friends coming over tomorrow - nice unsuspecting, non-Singaporean friends *evil grin*

Someone came up to ask us how to eat this - and since we were such experts (Simian was sniffing at them too!) that he came back a few minutes later to ask us how to use banana flower. I felt extremely knowledgeable to be able to explain the concept of rojak :)

We also went and finally got a mattress. After trawling through numerous websites, going to department stores, checking out online offers and going to several mattress shops, we hit two more today. In the first store, the guy was not pushy - left us alone, and when we asked, gave us the price which was reasonable from what we could find out. In the second store the guy was a real showman - but the price he quoted for the same top of the line mattress (which we weren't interested in anyway) was $1000 more. He told us that other stores would try and sell us something similar but it wouldn't be exactly the same - granted, that might be the case, but $1000 more? They also didn't have the same basic mattress we wanted - we went back to the same store and ordered it.

5 Guys Fries

5 Guys Fries
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

So were the fries good? They were excellent. Lest you think this was the full extent of the fries, I would have to explain that this was just the stuff that remained IN the cup. The rest spilled into the HUGE bag that they gave us. As Simian said, the weight of the bag was kind of scary - and this was the small cup! Other people around us were having the large and it was so big it was scary.

The whole lunch cost US$12 - we're definitely going back.

Veggie burger

Veggie burger
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I've never stopped by 5 Guys Fries because it was a burger joint but someone told me the fries there are awesome. We were buying stuff and so decided to stop in for a late lunch.

They had a veggie burger which is basically either with or without cheese and you can put in a whole bunch of toppings which we did. They also had huge boxes of peanuts - you just help yourself when you get in.

Hoffman's exterior

Hoffman's
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The parlour wasn't very large but the ice cream cakes were also very reasonable.

Hoffman's

Hoffman's
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We stopped by Hoffman's on the way back from the market. I meant to try it - and we passed by so of course we went in. The ice cream was delicious - and cheap.

Recipe booklet

Recipe booklet
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Seriously - what can you buy for a quarter these days? Even if it is photocopied!

We also met people at the Farmer's market who run businesses around the area. One woman mentioned that they had vandalism this year - which has never happened in the 8 years she's had her business around. The security people who came by also mentioned the same thing - it's very likely to be kids during the school holiday who are bored and I see from this link it happens in nearby Eldersburg too.

I remember my Mom mentioning that during school holidays vandalism and graffiti always goes up and I guess it's the same the world over. One of the caregivers in Singapore had a bunch of caregivers break into his cat holding room and released all the cats one night during the school holidays!

Zinnias

Zinnias
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The market had all kinds of other food (including organic eggs which were much cheaper than at the supermarkets). They also had a group of Master Gardeners there to answer your questions. Simian got into a discussion with some of the people there and they have a masterclass starting next month.

One of the ladies there gave me this bunch of zinnias to take home. They were very friendly especially when they heard we moved into the neighbourhood and offered advice on where to buy the best products.