Clipper Mill

 

Woodberry Kitchen is in the Clipper Mill neighbourhood. Simian had a friend who used to live in the condominium there and we were surprised what an upscale condo there was in the midst of what still seems a pretty run down neighbourhood. The Clipper Mill project though is doing very well. The abandoned looking building is actually a garage for the area which is intentionally left to look like that.

Food at Woodberry

 

We went for brunch because we figured it would be easier for our friends with babies. The food was good - though I wonder if their dinner menu might be even better. I had a vegetable flatbread (Suntaneye had a flatbread too) and they were both huge but tasted mostly like good pizza (caramelised onions? I am so there). Simian's Trumpet Mushroom and Cheddar Cheese quiche was amazing - the texture of the quiche was almost like creme brulee. We also had fries and hash. Will's cocktail (the Full Monty) was something to behold. It was a Bloody Mary with a prawn and candied bacon on top and a Natty Boh as a chaser. I didn't even get around to tasting the food.

Then of course we had dessert. Simian and I shared a Satur-dae which was vanilla ice cream with fudge and E had the same. A and Will and Suntaneye and her husby had the CMP - which had marshmellows, malt balls and Wet Peanuts!

The menu was very interesting - they had both local and Canadian bacon, making me wonder what the difference was. As we left, I also noticed they had pickles - and really good pickles, including Cauliflower Pickles which they sold in jars. I was so full but I would totally have had some of that!

Woodberry Kitchen decor

 

We finally made it to Woodberry Kitchen for lunch. It has been on almost all the best of lists for places in Bmore and Bon Appetit named it one of the Must East Restaurants on the East Coast. Suntaneye and I have said that we'd like to go forever but of course it took our imminent departure to actually make me book a table.

We went with Suntaneye and her husby, Will and A, HJ, E and Baby E and R. R and Suntaneye's husby had both been there but none of the rest of us had. The building is lovely - it's part of a converted mill.

Up Close and Personal

 

Today was Simian's Up Close and Personal in the lab. Everyone gives a talk about themselves just before they leave. I drove down in the snow! It was fortunate that it was above freezing so the snow didn't stick. People were driving pretty slowly though which was good because I was too!

Simian's talk was fun and his labmates were trying all ways and means to punk him :)

Snow on branches

Snow on branches
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I woke up this morning and was going to clean, and then a short while later, the power went out. I used my Iphone to check on stuff online and then I called Simian who said he'd be home early afternoon. I told him I was going back to bed. Within an hour, the power was back up. I was impressed with BGE (for once) but then spoke to another neighbour who had been without power for twelve hours. I think we just lucked out that our power went out just as they were restoring hers! Still I'm grateful that power was restored at all!

The snow was dense and heavy. Simian got home at 1:30 pm and shovelled for three hours. Our neighbour, R, came by when Simian was almost done. He had just come home after a long night out using their plow as well.

Trees and branches were snapping all over the place. Suntaneye and her husby had a bad ride home last night and cars were abandoned all over the place. It seems this was worse than the bad storms last year.

It looks like we'll get a dusting tomorrow but there may be another big storm next week. Groan.

Stuck and Baking

 

It looks like Simian can't make it home tonight. He tried to take an alternative route home, got stuck in snow and had to dig himself out. As he forgot the shovel, he had to use his hands - without gloves. He turned around to the train station and is taking the train back to the lab. At least there he has food, warmth and a place to sleep.

Since we were expecting snow today, I stayed in and baked. I made ORCs with Rice Krispies, chilli lime peanuts (with no 'Spanish' peanuts and I'd use less salt next time) and peanutella! The ORCs taste especially good dipped INTO peanutella. I know - it's disgusting.

I am extremely grateful that I have power and am warm and toasty indoors.

Birds in the snow

 

Simian calls me Weather Girl because I am obsessed with the weather. I check details way in advance and I check them often. During Snowpocalyse last year, I was checking the weather online AND looking out the window every five minutes. So today when I saw there was a storm coming, I knew I would not be leaving the house (and had the luxury of not having to!). I told Simian to remember to come home early even though the forecast kept changing. As our neighbour B put it, the only time they accurately forecast the weather is after it's already happened.

In the end, Simian was delayed at work, left late, and is now stuck in his car. He left the train station but can't make it home. The roads are snowed in (the highway outside our home) and visibility is poor. It's been an hour and he says no one is moving. I last saw a plow on our road an hour ago, but he said he hasn't seen one on the main road for the last hour an hour.

I guess that's also why the birds were all out today - there was a lot of activity at the feeder. There usually is when there is a storm. We even had thunder snow earlier this evening - I've always wondered why there's no thunder when it snows. Apparently there can be - it's just not common.

Dinner with Suntaneye

 

Simian went for dinner with friends and while I was invited, it seemed more fun to go hang out with Suntaneye! We went to Daedalus Books (and yes I bought books even though I wasn't supposed to. It's like taking an alcoholic to a bar and saying, no drinks for you!). I am already a huge customer of Daedalus online but this is only the second time I've been to the shop. Imagine a shop not a lot smaller than Borders but filled with discount books. Love. Suntaneye showed much more restraint than I did.

We also got to eat at Egyptian Pizza. I've been telling Simian I want to get good pizza before we leave and tada! Suntaneye and I also shared a mezze platter AND she paid. Thanks Suntaneye for dinner and the company!

Cauliflower cake and brownies

 

Today was house cleaning day. For dinner I made Cauliflower Cake again - I think this was better than the last time I made it. Simian liked it a lot. I also made brownies from Bon Appetit. They claim that these are the best brownies ever. I was a little disappointed at first as I was expecting fudginess but as Simian pointed out, these are meant to be the slightly meringue-y ones.

Tomorrow the weather is expected to be sunny AND warm - it's going to go up to 4 degrees! Yay! Then we might get snow again on Wednesday :(

Louis

 

We stayed in most of the day and watched the entire season of Louis (we started yesterday) on Hulu. Though we hardly ever watch tv (and this is the first time I've signed up for Hulu), we love Louis CK and had to watch this. Now I'm sad that we won't be able to access Hulu in Singapore because you can watch literally anything!

We also bought a whole bunch of stuff online and went to Office Depot to get more files for Simian and I to put things away neatly. We also decided to go to Qdoba - we always meant to try it but Tahina's next door always looks so tempting. It's kind of funny how you suddenly realise there's all this stuff you want to try that you had never gotten around to doing. Qdoba's wasn't bad but it's very much a chain restaurant. Next time we'll head back to Tahina's or try Noodles and Co.

It was another cold day - it never went above -5 degrees celsius though it was nice and sunny and with wind chill it was colder. I decided to skip the jog.

Cold!

 

Somehow the weather has got us mixed up with one of those other M states - Maine, Massachusetts or Minnesota - because it's been WAY colder than usual. Today it never got any higher than 20 degrees and in fact was way colder most of the day (right now it's around 8 degrees Farenheit or -13 degrees Celscius). Will came over this morning and said he doesn't remember any winter being colder than this since he moved here.

I made Christmas Morning Muffins (thank you Nigella) - which have orange juice and cranberried in them for breakfast.

We went out in the afternoon - first to the Swap Shop for Simian to drop some stuff off. The Swap Shop is for you to leave stuff you don't want, or to pick up stuff other people have left. For the first time though, people were waiting (in the COLD) to see what other people were bringing in. The minute we parked, two different guys came up to see what we had. One of them was standing there with a cup of coffee. We never even unloaded because they asked if they could take everything. Simian said that when we drove in every head turned to look at us. It's sad to see that times are still pretty bad and people are taking what they can.

We drove down to Westminster for lunch at the Thai place we went to with Suntaneye and her husby a while ago. Then we headed to Marshalls - Simian needed new jeans and he got some fantastic finds. I also got myself two new dresses! We love Marshalls - it's a huge overstock place and you can get stuff at a steal.

We stopped by to get some supplies from Office Depot, dropped in to get Bird Food from Tractor Supply Company and then came home. The lady at the cashier said she didn't even need to check my credit card because she knows us by now. Simian said that he's going to miss all this and I told him not to start because I might start bawling. I'm glad we'll be back soon.

Tracks in the snow

Tracks in the snow
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I'm not a big fan of snow or the cold but I do like seeing the tracks left behind in fresh snow.

What I'm not all that keen on is running outside. I layered VERY warmly today - I had on thermals, my running turtle neck, pants, a jacket, gloves, socks AND my balaclava. I think I spent more time putting on clothes than running and it's the first time I've worn so much running outside in winter. Even so it was a tough run with snow being blown around. Plus as nice and snug as you're balaclava keeps you, you're still breathing in a lot of moisture which just makes it unpleasant.

Squirrel Butt

Squirrel Butt
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Look what grew - and in winter too!

I have no idea why this squirrel was sitting in my flower pot - and he was there for quite a few minutes. Simian stayed home to put up some shelving and I cleaned the house.

In the evening we went out to run some chores, get some boxes and new luggage.

Birds, Blooms and Food

 

The weather went above freezing today and we got quite a lot of melting. It was very welcome too as the last snow was of the icy variety and no one wants to go slip sliding around.

The birds were active in the yard today. I saw a bunch of birds bathing in some melted water. I also saw three bluebirds in the tree next to the puddle. There were also robins and a cedar waxwing! I know the waxwing is supposed to be common on the East Coast but this is only the second time I've seen one (the first being earlier this week).

I went for a jog and also made a Shepherd's Pie. There wasn't enough potato on top - will need to increase that the next time. I also made vanilla pudding, using extract instead of the vanilla bean pods.

The flowers Baby E sent me are blooming - here's a photo!

Kansas City

 

Simian and I went to Kansas City, Missouri today. Simian had meetings there. In case you're wondering where it is, it is right dab smack in the middle of the US and the city is split down the middle by a road. On the right, you are in Kansas City, MO. On the left, you are in Kansas City, Kansas.

We left the house at 7 am and caught the only direct flight from here on Southwest Airlines. The flight was okay - it was slightly delayed because of the weather but they even gave us snacks and the seats were better than American! We flew from Nashville on Southwest too and it's totally democratic - we still can't figure out why you'd fork out $20 more when you still sit in the exact same seat as everyone else. The only difference is you get to pre-board and you get an alcoholic drink.

The weather in Missouri was cold. They said it would not get above 20 degrees Farenheit and when we left the wind chill factor meant it was actually around 9 degrees Farenheit. When the wind blows, it is COLD. I even had my scarf and hat (both knitted by Mom) with me.

It was so cold I decided to just tag along with Simian. The museum I wanted to go to was also closed. The people who met with Simian did drive us a little around the city. We also went to PF Chang's for lunch - the first time Simian or I had ever been there. The mapo tofu did not resembly mapo tofu. The eggplant I had wasn't all that spicy - but you know what? It was actually pretty good. Just forget the fact it's supposed to be Chinese food and enjoy it for what it is.

Downtown KC has a nice shopping area and quite a few museums. Some of these photos are from the County Club Plaza where there is food and shopping (and a few minutes from where we met with the people Simian had to see). It would probably have been walkable if it hadn't been so cold.

I also took a photo at BWI of the Best Buy Express kiosk. I love these. Southwest's hub is at BWI and it is nice with lots of food options.

We took the direct flight home in the evening, had dinner at home and collapsed on the sofa.

Busy days and birds

 

We had a busy day yesterday and the only photo I took was of the salad I had for lunch! We met D for lunch and to return his seeder (incidentally D also has Reynaud's. As we stood outside HJ's home on Saturday, we realised, D, A and I all have Reynaud's so we were swopping stories!).

We headed back to HJ's to give her her birthday present, and then we went to the lab for a while. We headed down to Suntaneye's afterwards - Simian had a fun time playing Suntaneye's husby's new game. Suntaneye of course had to feed us as usual!

Today for some reason, there were a bunch of cardinals in the tree. I counted three pairs. The starlings have also been swarming - most of the time they're in our field eating bugs which is fine. So far they have not emptied the feeder so that's good.

I also included a photo of my birthday lunch that Simian made me.

Birthday surprise

 

Simian told me that we'd have a quiet birthday celebration and that we'd go out for dinner. He had an elaborate story planned where we had to stop by his lab and then out to dinner but he refused to tell me anymore. I had my suspicions but the story seemed to pan out. At the last minute though, he was insistent that we stop by HJ and E's home and that's when I knew something was up.

It turns out that it was a surprise birthday celebration. HJ, A and I all have birthdays in January and so this was our joint celebration. I was impressed and touched that HJ and E managed to decorate the place even though they have Baby E to look after!

Everyone started arriving soon after - Will and A, Suntaneye and her husby and D. Simian had ordered take out Indian food and HJ and E had gotten the cake.

I got wonderful presents too - Cooking Mama (which I'm playing already) and a wallet from Will and A and a gorgeous handmade pouch from Suntaneye! It has a beautiful cat on it too!

Thanks everyone for making it a lovely birthday!

Tripod

Tripod
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian got me a tripod for my camera!

Flowers and Ipods!

 

I had two lovely surprises today. First a box of flowers arrived - and I must say I've never seen a box of flowers so well wrapped and with so many instructions! The flowers came from Baby E, who even thought of enclosing a vase with them. Not bad for an 8 month old!

I also got an Ipod Nano from D! He said that it would be good for my runs, which is extremely thoughtful of him. Incidentally it's been a little too cold to run but tomorrow it will go over freezing (and with windchill above 20 degrees Farenheit!) and I hope to be able to go for one then!

Crumpler bag

Crumpler bag
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

This is what happens when you tell your wife that she should open all your mail and packages and you order her a surprise present!
Thanks Simian for my new camera bag!

Winter's Food

 

I finally feel like my flu is over and felt good enough to go running. Unfortunately the weather wouldn't co-operate. It was cold again today - it hovered at around -4 degrees celscius all day. Add the wind chill to that and it was below 20 degrees Farenheit, which is when it becomes not very safe to exercise outdoors. So I was sensible and stayed indoors.

Simian seems to be coming down with my flu now though. He went to the lab for a while and I made a Curry Lentil soup for lunch. We had a quiet afternoon, then he made 10X for dinner and I made a Granny Smith pudding.

Mac and Cheese

 

I made this Mac and Cheese for dinner. Simian liked it a lot.

We had someone to come in and look at our leaky shower today - which then refused to leak.

The Amazon

 

I realised I forgot to post these last few shots of Buenos Aires before we left. We were also told halfway through the flight that we could see the Amazon River. Half the plane was out of their seats taking photos!

Presents

 

I came back to presents! Thanks goiriego and to JH for the lovely presents! Goiriego also sent some beautiful measuring cups but unfortunately one of them broke in transit and I'll have to go exchange them. JH - the chocolates are fantastic! We are rationing them before they run out :)

I made a barley and lentil stew last night and added corn and edamame.

Tango

 

Of course one can't end a post on Buenos Aires, without a bit on tango. We watched a tango show at G and F's wedding (and I include some photos from their wedding). I kept referring to the Bandeneon as an accordian - Simian was not amused :)

The tango is quite beautiful - the leg movements are key. I am just not a big fan of dance though. It's very skilful but I'm not enchanted by it as many others have been.

No Reserve :(

Simian took most of the photos for our walk around Buenos Aires on our last full day there so again, head over to his blog to see them. We weren't sure about pulling the SLR in some of the areas so Simian did most of the photography. He is the better photographer anyway :)

We had the most fun on the walk. I hadn't felt all that well and we had decided to skip the Reserva Ecologica. It had been top of my list of things to do when we got there because I read that there were easily 200 different species of birds. M's mother (a BA native) had told us however it wasn't worth a visit. She probably just isn't a birder or much of an outdoor person. I have to say that of all the things to have missed, this is the one I most regret not seeing. Apparently, there have been dozens of fires there over the years - the Reserve sits on such prime land that it is suspected that developers are trying to burn it down to build property on it. By the time we got to Puerto Madero, it was getting late and we knew we wouldn't make it to the reserve in time (we were both surprised that I had felt well enough to walk that far!).

There are literally dozens of parillas (grills) along the area outside the reserve and the condiments looked fantastic. All of them were virtually empty because it was early evening but I can imagine they would get more crowded. We also saw a few birds that I've never seen before(Simian has photos of some of them). Simian has some other shots of birds that we got very grainy photos of - I had left my telephoto lens back in the apartment. We'll need to do some identification because these were amazing looking birds. We could see there were lookouts in the reserve. When we got to the closed entrance and saw that the reserve was sponsored by both Bird Life and Swarvoski Optics, I knew we had missed out on something amazing.

We also saw several birds that look like American Robins - they turned out to be Rufous-bellied thrushes.

The rest of our walk was also fun. It turns out that we walked through areas that M, our friend born and bred in Buenos Aires, had never been through herself! Also, by the time I got back, I was entirely fever free. Somehow we walked 13 km and we didn't feel it at all.

Gelato

 

The gelato in Buenos Aires was to die for. We tried Un Altra Volta and Freddo though we didn't have the opportunity to try Persicco. Everyone has their favourite chain. Apparently, Volta is the 'original' because the Freddo people sold off Freddo and this is their re-entry into the Gelato market.

Monument for the Fallen

 

Simian and I had tried to go to the Armour Museum but it was closed, being New Year's Eve. I hadn't realised it was a museum about the Falklands Islands. Interestingly, we came upon this flag lowering at the Plaza San Martin. I had no idea that the place was a Monument to the Fallen of the Falklands Island's war but I had actually mentioned it to Simian as we stood there.

Dogs

 

BA has plenty of professional dog walkers. We saw one walking five dogs at a time though M told us that people walking twenty dogs at a time is not uncommon.

On the other hand, the streets are full of strays as well. Most look like they are not ill treated and aren't too skinny. Dog Poop on the pavement is also common.

One other unusual thing - everyone has their air cons on in summer so when you're walking below, expect to get dripped on. There are often times when there are blackouts but all the more expensive buildings have back ups so while we saw the lights flicker, nothing went off.