Of Chickpeas and writing

Today I finally finished with a long story I've been working on. It's just over 40000 word and is the the longest thing I've ever written - now on to the editing. I'm really bad at editing - I'd rather be writing something new, so this is going to take even more discipline.

I also baked a bunch of things today - I'll post photos tomorrow. I made a chickpea with spice and tomato except the saucepan was heavier than I expected and hot so I managed to dump three quarters of it on the floor. Fortunately Simian came home just then and helped me to clean up. I whipped up another batch so dinner was saved. Whew.

Bull

Bull
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom I thought you'd like this - this is R's 'baby'.

Wood

Wood
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

They cut all this wood themselves. Some of the wood in the old barn was amazing - it had notches in it because it was cut all by saw!

Barn and warehouse

Our neighbours offered to take us up to their warehouse and farm today. We were supposed to go tomorrow, but today's weather was really nice and the forecast tomorrow is for rain. Fortunately, Simian had just left for work, so I called him and he turned around and came home.

The farm was amazing - there is a log house from 1790. The stove in the left hand corner is the stove that the previous owner's mother left there. The little window in the bottom right hand corner was the only illumination upstairs.

They also have an old barn on the property. They cut all the wood themselves and replaced the rotting floorboards. They'll be working on repainting and working on the shutters next.

They also took us to their warehouse - their son collects old trucks, tractors, fire engines and other equipment. It was really amazing - the place was packed with these old machines. More impressively, ALL of them work after a lot of work and tinkering.

I hate bureaucracy

Today was depressing. It started out really well - nice weather, sunshine, and I managed to get quite a bit of writing done. We were all waiting to hear though if K's approval for a visa to stay had been granted. To cut a long story short, she needs a certain visa to be able to stay in B-more for her residency. This wouldn't be an issue for most other people, but she's not American and has to get the right visa.

At any rate, she was supposed to have been told by today if it was possible. When she tried to contact the relevant people however, no one responded - and come the 9pm deadline (which they knew about), no one had gotten back to her.

We don't know what happened yet and hopefully will find out tomorrow, but I'm amazed that a person's life can be so drastically changed because someone MUST have screwed up. Now she's going to have to leave B-more because it's too late now.

Empty feeder

Empty feeder
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian and I came home on Sunday to find almost all the squirrel cake gone. Then when T and him walked around on Sunday, they found a lot of poop on the side of the lawn. We don't know what ate it, but T thinks it might be rabbits. At any rate, the food was completely gone and they left us poop in exchange.

We bought a huge garbage can to put in all the bird food in the garage because Simian found a dead mouse in one of the bins a few days ago - it probably came in from the cold. Plus we found mouse poop on Simian's work table. Since mice can come in through tiny, tiny, holes (the size of a dime), and the garage door has an opening under it, it's not a surprise it came in.

At any rate, this morning, Simian cleaned out the area, and put in the secured the rest of the food. There was mouse poop right next to the bird seed - not good.

The only bottle we left out was the nyger seed - so far the mice have only gnawed through the bags of sunflower seed and nothing in containers. This morning as Simian was doing the cleanup, I noticed the top had popped open, and I closed it.

So this afternoon, I poured some thistle seed out and wondered why nothing was coming out - and noticed what looked to be grey mould coming out of the opening. Then I saw a little face and tail INSIDE the container (note the opening is tiny - the size of a stamp). I'm pretty sure the mouse was more scared but I was so taken aback, I dropped the container. Little mouse wiggled out onto the bin lid and I moved him outside, where I think he was too frightened to budge.

I tipped him gently under a tree outside and he sat there shivering for several minutes. Then I got worried that I might have left him to the mercy of the birds and went to check, but he was gone. I'm now hearing little rustlings in the bin and I don't know if I'm being paranoid. Simian is going to check tonight.

He really was pretty cute - and as long as he stays outside the house I'm fine. We had a mouse problem in the last apartment and neither Simian or I want a repeat of that.

Tomato, Mozzarella, Potato Bake

Tomato, Mozzarella, Potato Bake
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Quiet day - T left in the morning, and Simian went to work even earlier. I cleaned the house and it was super windy outside. I ended up being literally blown off course.

Made a tomato, Mozzarella and Potato bake which was super easy to make and which Simian liked a lot. I added a bit of garlic. My casserole dish still has pudding cake in it so I used this square baking tin instead.

We're supposed to have a comet passing very close by tonight, but it's a little too cold to go out and check!

Playing the Wii

Playing the Wii
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

This is now what passes for entertainment in our house :)

Orange Pudding cake

Orange Pudding cake
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made an orange pudding cake today for dinner. Simian made dinner of noodles with an interesting chilli-rendang-peanut sauce. An ex-lab mate of his, T, is visiting from Indiana.

T is actually heading for Singapore in two weeks - he was last there late 2007 and met goiriego then too.

Bunny slippers

Bunny slippers
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Suntaneye got me these gorgeous bunny slippers and a cake stand :) I'll take a photo of the cake stand when I have a nice cake on it to show it off!

Busy

Busy day. Simian and I went for a jog, and we got a phone call from our neighbour asking if Simian was free to give them a hand. They needed an extra pair of hands to move the flatbed off their truck - the truck by the way was huge! So was their workshop where they had all manner of tools which Simian was invited to use anytime. It was quite an experience to see it - and to see Simian moving a huge truck bed!

One of our neighbour's friends also came over - with her new pygmy goats that she just adopted. The goat was adorable - you think goats have just one sound but no, this goat had a whole variety of baaas. There was the "I don't want to go there" baa, the "hello" baa and the "no, I really don't want to go there" baaa followed by digging in of heels. I've never seen a pygmy goat - and not one on a bright orange leash. I wish I had my camera with me!

Simian and I went to pick up some groceries, then dropped by Suntaneye's place. She got me some beautiful presents - and I'll post them tomorrow when I take photos of them.

We went to Simian's lab for a short while, dropped by the Wine Source at Hampden, then came home for dinner. I also managed to lose the gold backing of my earring while in the shower :(

Dinner at Tutti Gusti

After the game, Simian and I met with K and we went to Simian's favourite, Tutti Gusti. I forgot to take a photo of my gigantic bowl of minestrone, which was also excellent. K's eggplant parmesan was so huge, she barely made a dent in it. Simian of course had his usual tortellini.

Geese in field

Geese in field
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian and I went for our friend R's basketball game (he coaches, not plays) and we saw this field of Canadian Geese. There were a lot more geese then I could fit into the photo.

Starlings in garden

Starlings in garden
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The starlings descended again twice today. The main concern I have is that they scare all the other little birds off with their sheer presence. I have read though that they eat grubs and other insects so they're not necessarily a bad thing.

Poe Stamps

Poe Stamps
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

No bird photos today, in part because today was cleaning day again (I hear Mom laughing). The robot underlings (overlords) were not behaving well and running out of battery juice causing consternation (and yes Mom I didn't forget the battery - am waiting for the one with the longer running time to come back in stock).

I did however manage to get some reading time in and was reading Tender is the Night (which always brings to mind the Jackson Browne song). I don't know why it always surprises me every single time I read Fitzgerald how much I enjoy his books. You'd think by now I'd come to expect that he's just really good.

He mentioned Johns Hopkins a few times in the book - and I remember he had a B-more connection so I googled him. Little did I realise both he and Zelda are buried in Rockville, Maryland! Which means I have to go.

Incidentally I have yet to see Edgar Allan Poe's gravesite either. For good reason too. It used to be in a part of town which could conservatively be described as dodgy. I remember a guidebook back when Simian first got here suggesting you park as close to it and his house as possible then making a quick dash inside. Now however it's apparently been cleaned up - we met someone whose window overlooks the graveyard.

About time too as it's also Poe's 200th anniversary of his birth. There are festivities and also these stamps which I got a few days ago to commemorate the event. I'm not sure I want to see Virginia's hair, but a winetasting in the Westminster catacombs - count me in!

Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

For some reason, Simian doesn't like garlic bread (really who doesn't like garlic bread?) So since he's working late tonight, I made garlic bread - the lemon zest from this recipe adds a really nice touch. All garlic bread should henceforth have lemon zest.

As Simian is working, I am also trying to get back to some writing, but have been distracted by the really, really good pickings on emusic this month. I rarely ever use up my 50 songs but this month I am going to have to - new Trail of Dead, Beirut (whom I will reluctantly admit Simian was right about) and AC Newman albums (this from someone who rarely downloads whole albums anymore)! Plus I just downloaded a fantastic song from the Pains of Being Pure at Heart (and I just realised they're coming to Bmore!), an M Ward and a bunch of songs from this amazing album. A word of caution : the BBC sessions of Belle and Sebastian has a very strange version of Judy and the Dream of Horses - somehow jangly guitars on B&S is just wrong.

Birds in the snow

I decided to try something a little different - here's a slideshow of birds. Mom - it's all your fault :)

Starlings

This was pretty over-whelming - I counted 30 starlings descending on the house feeder, the other feeders and the ground all at once. Generally we have one or two, but possibly because it was a little snowy today, it was like a scene out of The Birds. They generally like corn and millet, but they went straight for the sunflower hearts - probably because that's the larger feeder. The only problem is that they scare off all the other birds - see the one stepping on the other starlings in the house feeder. Apparently they're related to our mynahs.

We also had a squirrel in the large bird house - and juncos and jays in the squirrel feeder. As long as everyone gets fed I guess!

Snow

Snow
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It snowed lightly today - but enough that we got a little accumulation. It's not all that cold though which is nice!

Simian with Wii

Simian with Wii
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M - you asked, so here it is! We actually did stop playing at midnight, but then collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep. Simian and I woke up at 4 to go back to bed. Simian referred to it as our walk of shame. And yes, the Wii is incredibly fun.

Wii

Wii
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Okay Imp and M you can stop plotting now. I KNOW what you guys were up to. No sending of Wiis, no sending of games (those subtle questions this morning were good, Imp, but I know your devious plans!). We got Ghost Squad, we got House of the Dead. We even got the gun from 5 Below, so DON'T SEND ANYTHING!!!!!

If you don't hear from Simian or I for a few days you'll know why.

Pair of Cardinals

Female and male cardinal
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Okay I promise I'll stop boring you with photos of birds soon. I just had to post this though - because it's a pair of cardinals in the trees and the female is so much less colourful as you can see.

Muesli and cookies

Muesli and cookies
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I baked this afternoon - made Muesli and Simian's favourite ORCs (or Pimp my Cookie, depending on whom you ask).

My neighbour called today - they're taking us to their farm this week. He mentioned that nearby Union Mills is owned by the Shriver Family - what I didn't realise was that it was 'THE' Shriver family (yes M - I'll take you when you come up :)) . Also, we drove by a huge Random House building the other day and I wondered whether it was related to the publisher. Turns out it's the distribution centre. Simian suggests I stalk the place and convince them to publish as yet unwritten masterpiece :)

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian says this bird is not a freeloader because he doesn't eat any of the food from the bird house - I saw him eating the berries off our bush today.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian took this because I was too lazy to switch to my smaller lens. We bought a LOT of bread last week for the fondue that K made and have been trying to use up the bread. Here's a good recipe I had for stale bread - it's a savory bread and butter pudding (as an aside, I've noticed that a lot of people don't really like sweet B&B pudding - I wonder why that is. With the creamy custard and the lovely melty-ness of it, what's there not to like?)

First customer

First customer
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

In case you're wondering, the feeder IS tilted - it's so the rain water can drain out if any gets caught.

Simian and the squirrel house

Simian and the squirrel house
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian decided today was the day to build the squirrel feeder as a result. He spent the whole afternoon on it.

Goldfinch about to land

Goldfinch about to land
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I like the looks on the faces of the birds in the feeder :)

Jays against snow

Jays against snow
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

These guys woke me up this morning with their loud squawking this morning - there was a squirrel on the feeder. It was a little snowy today and so we saw them again for the first time in a week.

Medieval Times

I knew Simian was up to something today. There was the insistence that he had nothing up his sleeve for Valentine's Day - and W and Simian had mentioned Medieval Times last week during dinner. He was a little too insistent about going to the Arcade at Arundel Mills. Then there were the frequent phone calls from W.

We got there and I went to the Old Navy and then suddenly W popped up with A! :) Just what you need for Valentine's Day - blood, gore and the special LED flashing rose :)

It was a very fun night (no pun intended). I walked by the BCBG outlet store and they closed just as we got there - there was stuff going for $9. Yep Mom and M - $9.

Brown Bird

Brown Bird
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Like this bird - I think it's some kind of sparrow. But what kind? Anyone know?

Duelling Finches

Duelling Finches
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian took this great shot - I love the look on the face of the bird on the left!

Simian taking photos

Simian taking photos
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Suntaneye reminded me that it was the Great Birdyard Bird Count and Simian was out taking photos. I tried to count as many birds as I could, but I have trouble identifying some. For example, there were so many sparrows at some points, I didn't know which was which!

Broccoli Parmesan Gratin

Broccoli Parmesan Gratin
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made this for dinner - another winner from Gourmet magazine.

Male downy woodpecker

Male downy woodpecker
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's the male downy - see the little red stripe on his head?

female downy woodpecker

female downy woodpecker
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's the female downy woodpecker - the male was chasing her around I think.

Bird fight 2

Bird fight 2
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

A lot of excitement at the feeders today - this as fight number two, or rather a lot of flapping of wings.

Also, the woodpeckers made some noise and then POOF! everyone disappeared. A bird of prey landed on the tree. Even though I was RIGHT there with my camera, when I turned the camera it took off. For some reason, the ravens and the birds of prey can ALWAYS sense that I'm there - unlike the smaller birds. Or maybe the latter just aren't as smart.

Woodpecker fight!

Woodpecker fight!
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Today there were THREE woodpeckers in the tree - one of them was very unhappy with the other so there was a lot of chasing around. Here's two of them - see the one below making evil eyes at the one on top?

Hairy Woodpecker

It was super windy today - winds of up to 60 miles an hour, downed power lines, people without electricity. I was happy that I could stay home and watch the birds - though the wind was so strong it actually managed to blow half the bird seed away!

Dive bombing cardinal

And he's up and away!

Sometimes I wonder why Simian and I go out hoping to look for birds. We brought my camera along yesterday and only saw dead deer. In our yard though, we see far more birds.

Junco

Another bird that arrived with winter - the junco.

Finches

Finches were some of the first birds we had here and we still have a specific finch feeder on the deck - I was so excited to see that we have the house finches (on the left) too. The gold finch is on the right.

Cardinal

Look at that goofy little red tuft of hair. It's probably just me but he reminds me of Animal on the Muppet Show.

Blue Jays

Blue jays are pretty big, and they're clumsy, and they announce their arrival very loudly. Still there's something adorable about them.