We woke up lazily this morning, had showers, packed up, and left the hotel. After driving up and down International Blvd. we remembered where IHOP was and stopped in for breakfast. I tried out one of their new types of lemonade, watermelon lemonade, which was interesting, but I still think I like regular better. While we ate it started to rain, definitely not an uncommon occurrence for Seattle. We had been thinking about going to the Woodlands Zoo, but the rain convinced us to forgo that adventure, at least for this trip.
After breakfast, we set out for home, but stopped at the Tulalip outlet mall just after Everett. Bryn separated from my mum and me after a few stores and shopped on her own. I had a grand time helping my mum buy some chocolate-covered fruit from Harry & David's, a few adorable baby outfits from NauticaKids (for future baby presents, cause who knows when someone might just all of a sudden decide to have a baby), new shoes for Tyler, and an awesome pink and blue Burberry tie for my cousin Nathan's birthday present. When I saw the baby clothes I absolutely wished they came in my size and, when I found Nathan's tie, I kind of wished I was a guy so I could wear it. (Sidenote: We found Burberry baby clothes in that store too and wow, they're darlingly cute, but who would pay $200 U.S. for something that a baby will only fit in for a few weeks?? But, I gotta say, the babies who wear Burberry are totally styling. I'll bet Nathan's kids will sport those clothes. Funny thing though, as ridiculous as I thought the price tags were, I secretly wanted to buy one of those baby outfits.)
After all those purchases, my mum and I were ready to leave and get back home, but Bryn was still shopping. So I went into a few stores with her and ended up getting an couple things. Finally Bryn was done too and we drove home without any mishaps, getting home around 11 p.m. And now I'm sitting here typing this and missing Jonathan. And he's only been gone a day...
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Monday, May 17, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Knox Mtn. & Westside Rd.
Jonathan and I played Racko this morning as we ate breakfast and backed up the stuff on my computer onto my external hard drive. Then in the afternoon, I showed Jonathan the downtown area of Kelowna from the best vantage point, Knox Mountain. I hadn't been up there for probably a few years and we stopped at the first lookout so I could point out some of the most notable places. I made sure to show Jonathan the monster on Black Mountain across the valley, a figure my dad has pointed out to us kids whenever we're driving around town and can see the shape made by a combination of the dry bare patches of mountainside and the sporadic forests. We took pictures of the mountain monster and then returned to the car, me reading all the information signs as we walked back to the parking lot. They were full of interesting trivia about the area. Some of it was stuff I already knew, but most of it was new information to me.
Then we drove to the top of the mountain, parked again and hiked up to the lookout at the peak. From there most of the same things were visible, but we also had a pretty good view of Okanagan Lake and the area across the lake. From up there, Jonathan saw a road running right along the lake and said he thought it looked like a really fun road to drive on. So I told him that it went all down the westside of the lake and if he wanted, we could drive south on it all the way to Vernon and then come back on the highway, essentially make a huge loop. I said I'd heard about the drive, but never done it myself so we decided to try it out. We headed back to our car, drove down the mountain, through downtown and over the bridge before turning off onto Westside Rd.
It was a lovely afternoon drive, although a tad scary at some points because of sheer dropoffs on my side of the car, straight down to the lake. Just a bit after a passing a provincial park that my family has gone to quite a bit, we saw something in the road ahead and slowed down, trying to identify it. As we drove closer, we both realized it was a bear, which shocked me because, although I've heard about bears coming into orchards at the edges of town, I have never seen one on a paved road in the valley before, only up on logging roads in the mountains. We slowed to a crawl and Jonathan put the hazard lights on while I grabbed my camera and tried to get pictures of the bear, who was ambling along eating roadside berries and greens. My camera was being annoying and not taking light enough pictures, so I was going to try taking a few on Jonathan's phone, but then we got too close to the furry brown bear and he scooted off the road and into the weeds and woods down the slope. When we were sure he had left for good and we wouldn't be getting any more pictures of him, we continued on and soon we were in territory I had never driven through before.
When we came to a new little community of condos and townhouses, we drove into one of the gated summer house neighbourhoods and explored the area and a little later, when we got to the small town of Fintry, we drove down to the lakeside and looked at a provincial park near the water. After that we drove to the end of Westside Rd. I was confused as to where we were for a bit until I saw a place I recognized, a historic ranch turned into a tourist stop called O'Keefe Ranch. Then I knew exactly where we were and directed Jonathan into Vernon where we explored some other roads west of town that I hadn't been on. They were fun to drive on and there were tons of orchards everywhere that were really pretty. Finally we figured out how to get back over to the town centre, where we stopped at A&W's for French fries and root beer floats. I mentioned a place I wanted to take Jonathan and so we decided to take our food there to eat.
We drove to the northeast part of town to Kalamalka Lake and parked at a beach. Then we walked to the end of a long dock with our food and ate there. A whole hockey team, wearing their jerseys, was celebrating at the beach and I recognized the logo on their jerseys, the Vernon Vipers, a BCHL team who, apparently by the looks of their large trophy, had just won the league's championship title. While we ate a loon swam the waters of the lake and we watched it until it dove and disappeared. By then the sun was starting to go down, so we got back in the car, turned up the heat since it was getting chilly, and headed back to Kelowna, taking a few other scenic roads so I could show Jonathan some more of the valley and he could have some more fun driving. And that's our adventure for today.
Then we drove to the top of the mountain, parked again and hiked up to the lookout at the peak. From there most of the same things were visible, but we also had a pretty good view of Okanagan Lake and the area across the lake. From up there, Jonathan saw a road running right along the lake and said he thought it looked like a really fun road to drive on. So I told him that it went all down the westside of the lake and if he wanted, we could drive south on it all the way to Vernon and then come back on the highway, essentially make a huge loop. I said I'd heard about the drive, but never done it myself so we decided to try it out. We headed back to our car, drove down the mountain, through downtown and over the bridge before turning off onto Westside Rd.
It was a lovely afternoon drive, although a tad scary at some points because of sheer dropoffs on my side of the car, straight down to the lake. Just a bit after a passing a provincial park that my family has gone to quite a bit, we saw something in the road ahead and slowed down, trying to identify it. As we drove closer, we both realized it was a bear, which shocked me because, although I've heard about bears coming into orchards at the edges of town, I have never seen one on a paved road in the valley before, only up on logging roads in the mountains. We slowed to a crawl and Jonathan put the hazard lights on while I grabbed my camera and tried to get pictures of the bear, who was ambling along eating roadside berries and greens. My camera was being annoying and not taking light enough pictures, so I was going to try taking a few on Jonathan's phone, but then we got too close to the furry brown bear and he scooted off the road and into the weeds and woods down the slope. When we were sure he had left for good and we wouldn't be getting any more pictures of him, we continued on and soon we were in territory I had never driven through before.
When we came to a new little community of condos and townhouses, we drove into one of the gated summer house neighbourhoods and explored the area and a little later, when we got to the small town of Fintry, we drove down to the lakeside and looked at a provincial park near the water. After that we drove to the end of Westside Rd. I was confused as to where we were for a bit until I saw a place I recognized, a historic ranch turned into a tourist stop called O'Keefe Ranch. Then I knew exactly where we were and directed Jonathan into Vernon where we explored some other roads west of town that I hadn't been on. They were fun to drive on and there were tons of orchards everywhere that were really pretty. Finally we figured out how to get back over to the town centre, where we stopped at A&W's for French fries and root beer floats. I mentioned a place I wanted to take Jonathan and so we decided to take our food there to eat.
We drove to the northeast part of town to Kalamalka Lake and parked at a beach. Then we walked to the end of a long dock with our food and ate there. A whole hockey team, wearing their jerseys, was celebrating at the beach and I recognized the logo on their jerseys, the Vernon Vipers, a BCHL team who, apparently by the looks of their large trophy, had just won the league's championship title. While we ate a loon swam the waters of the lake and we watched it until it dove and disappeared. By then the sun was starting to go down, so we got back in the car, turned up the heat since it was getting chilly, and headed back to Kelowna, taking a few other scenic roads so I could show Jonathan some more of the valley and he could have some more fun driving. And that's our adventure for today.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Hubble 3D IMAX
Yesterday evening we got to Jonathan's sister Becky's apartment in time for supper. She knew we were coming and had made really great chili and rice for us to eat. We parked behind the building and then crowded into the living room of Becky's and her husband Kent's apartment. After Jonathan introduced us all and we had a tour of their place, we ate supper and then headed a few minutes away to get ice cream from Cold Stone's for dessert. We got there just before they locked the doors so that was good timing on our part. I got the best thing in the store, a mint chocolate chip shake. Yum, mint is so great! After we got back to Becky and Kent's place, we lounged around in their living room on their really comfy bean bags and I found my sister-in-law, Terrie, and her sisters in Kent's elementary year books. It was super amusing. Then it was getting late and we were getting tired so us Q's left to go settle down in the fifth-wheel and Jonathan stayed to sleep on one of the two bean bags that made into queen-sized beds. Yeah, they were pretty cool.
This morning we ate breakfast in the apartment before heading into to Minneapolis and managing a whirlwind stop at the Mall of America. We had about 45 minutes there before we had to leave for our next appointment. Bryn left the group to look at stores and my mum and I bought tickets for the rides that we soon found. I texted the guys who had gone to Radio Shack or Best Buy or something like that and they soon met us at the rides. Ty and I and my dad went on this awesome ride that looked like a giant skateboard and spun us around. Then Jonathan and I went on one of those huge swings while Ty went on the skateboard ride again. We met up with Bryn and raced to a rollercoaster to use up the final tickets.
With our time at the mall over, we briskly walking back to our parked cars and drove into St. Paul to the IMAX theater at the zoo. We got tickets for the 12 p.m. showing of Hubble 3D and Becky managed to get there before it started after she finished working. It was an awesome IMAX. My dad said it was the best one he's ever seen and my mum and Bryn kept saying how much it made them think about God. I'm so glad Dr. Nash told us about it in our last Literary Journalism class. I loved it. After the movie was over, we browsed the gift store and bought a couple older IMAX's that we hadn't seen before on DVD. Then we all went back to the area that Becky and Kent live in and were going to go to this one place for lunch, but then found out it wasn't there anymore, so we walked down the street to a burrito place that was amazing. After that, my mum went with Becky to a bread store and a grocery store, while the rest of us went back to the apartment to load up the fifth-wheel and we all met back at a gas station before saying good-bye to Becky and continuing on our drive.
We made it to Fargo, ND before finally stopping for the night. We were actually on our way traveling north to Grand Forks, but the winds were really bad and it was raining too, so my dad turned our parade of cars around and we drove back to Fargo. We tried to find the KOA campsite our GPS found, but when we got to the address, there was nothing there, so finally my parents decided to stay at a hotel. We drove across the street to a La Quinta and my dad made arrangements for a room and also for a place to park the fifth-wheel for the night. Now we're all in the hotel, about to start Friday night worship, so I'd better sign off for tonight. Adios.
This morning we ate breakfast in the apartment before heading into to Minneapolis and managing a whirlwind stop at the Mall of America. We had about 45 minutes there before we had to leave for our next appointment. Bryn left the group to look at stores and my mum and I bought tickets for the rides that we soon found. I texted the guys who had gone to Radio Shack or Best Buy or something like that and they soon met us at the rides. Ty and I and my dad went on this awesome ride that looked like a giant skateboard and spun us around. Then Jonathan and I went on one of those huge swings while Ty went on the skateboard ride again. We met up with Bryn and raced to a rollercoaster to use up the final tickets.
With our time at the mall over, we briskly walking back to our parked cars and drove into St. Paul to the IMAX theater at the zoo. We got tickets for the 12 p.m. showing of Hubble 3D and Becky managed to get there before it started after she finished working. It was an awesome IMAX. My dad said it was the best one he's ever seen and my mum and Bryn kept saying how much it made them think about God. I'm so glad Dr. Nash told us about it in our last Literary Journalism class. I loved it. After the movie was over, we browsed the gift store and bought a couple older IMAX's that we hadn't seen before on DVD. Then we all went back to the area that Becky and Kent live in and were going to go to this one place for lunch, but then found out it wasn't there anymore, so we walked down the street to a burrito place that was amazing. After that, my mum went with Becky to a bread store and a grocery store, while the rest of us went back to the apartment to load up the fifth-wheel and we all met back at a gas station before saying good-bye to Becky and continuing on our drive.
We made it to Fargo, ND before finally stopping for the night. We were actually on our way traveling north to Grand Forks, but the winds were really bad and it was raining too, so my dad turned our parade of cars around and we drove back to Fargo. We tried to find the KOA campsite our GPS found, but when we got to the address, there was nothing there, so finally my parents decided to stay at a hotel. We drove across the street to a La Quinta and my dad made arrangements for a room and also for a place to park the fifth-wheel for the night. Now we're all in the hotel, about to start Friday night worship, so I'd better sign off for tonight. Adios.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wisconsin Dells
I wasn't really bothered by trains during the night, but I sure heard them early this morning long before I wanted to be awake. They seem to come through the area with surprising frequency. Finally everyone was up and I decided to hop off the top bunk, too (with some help since it's pretty high up). We showered and ate breakfast, then headed out for some fun in the Dells. We left the fifth-wheel at the campground and drove our cars through the city, looking for something that would be open at this time of the year. Finally we found an indoor adventure center. My dad got us all wristbands, which let us do anything that we wanted to inside the center.
First up was a couple rides on an indoor ferris wheel. Then we all went go-karting before Bryn, Ty, and Jonathan decided to try some wall climbing. After that we headed downstairs to play laser tag. It was my mum's first time playing and she had a grand time shooting at the many people darting around the darkened room, only to find out at the end that she had her gun turned the wrong direction and had successfully shot herself myriads of times. For her sake, we played again and she did much better that round. Next my mum got us to go on a carousel ride and then Ty begged Jonathan and me to go into a kids indoor crawl/play place with him. We did and realized that they are definitely made for kids, not young adult-sized people. It was still fun to climb through the area, though. Finally, we went to play a game on mini-golf. It was a really cool course, designed like a real golf course, with greens, rough grass areas, and sand traps, which made it pretty challenging. About halfway through, I somehow got two holes-in-one and a little later my mum decided that whoever won would have to pay for lunch. I ended up winning somehow (I hardly ever win when I'm playing with Bryn and my dad) so I said that we should go to Taco Bell. Having done most of the activities in the center, we decided to head off for lunch.
Right across the parking lot from the center was a Cracker Barrel and the rest of the family convinced me to go there for lunch instead of Taco Bell. I agreed, even though I was really in the mood for some soft tacos. It was Jonathan's first time ever eating there (which is inconceivable since he went to school in the south for five years) so in the end I was glad we went there. I really wanted him to experience Cracker Barrel before being back in New England again. After lunch we drove back to the KOA and loaded up the fifth-wheel. Now, we're about to leave for Minneapolis where Jonathan's sister lives. I'll write again when I have Internet.
First up was a couple rides on an indoor ferris wheel. Then we all went go-karting before Bryn, Ty, and Jonathan decided to try some wall climbing. After that we headed downstairs to play laser tag. It was my mum's first time playing and she had a grand time shooting at the many people darting around the darkened room, only to find out at the end that she had her gun turned the wrong direction and had successfully shot herself myriads of times. For her sake, we played again and she did much better that round. Next my mum got us to go on a carousel ride and then Ty begged Jonathan and me to go into a kids indoor crawl/play place with him. We did and realized that they are definitely made for kids, not young adult-sized people. It was still fun to climb through the area, though. Finally, we went to play a game on mini-golf. It was a really cool course, designed like a real golf course, with greens, rough grass areas, and sand traps, which made it pretty challenging. About halfway through, I somehow got two holes-in-one and a little later my mum decided that whoever won would have to pay for lunch. I ended up winning somehow (I hardly ever win when I'm playing with Bryn and my dad) so I said that we should go to Taco Bell. Having done most of the activities in the center, we decided to head off for lunch.
Right across the parking lot from the center was a Cracker Barrel and the rest of the family convinced me to go there for lunch instead of Taco Bell. I agreed, even though I was really in the mood for some soft tacos. It was Jonathan's first time ever eating there (which is inconceivable since he went to school in the south for five years) so in the end I was glad we went there. I really wanted him to experience Cracker Barrel before being back in New England again. After lunch we drove back to the KOA and loaded up the fifth-wheel. Now, we're about to leave for Minneapolis where Jonathan's sister lives. I'll write again when I have Internet.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Picnic & exploring
Today I had to get up early. Earlier than I have in quite awhile in order to have a shower and get downtown for Sabbath School and church in time. I made it and I enjoyed both very much. After church, our whole group drove to Chesterfrost Park in Hixson where my brother Mark and my sister-in-law Terrie put on a wonderful picnic meal for Bryn and me. Veggie meatballs, potato salad, assorted raw vegetables and then a triffle and cookies for dessert. I ate so much I thought I would pop. My mum's cousin, Alan, and his granddaughter, Brianna, drove up from Dalton, Ga. and it was really neat to meet them. I've seen pictures and read e-mails, but had never met them in person before, even though we were so close to them for three years.
Before lunch was fully ready some of us played a game that Mark and Terrie had brought along for their kids, Tucker and Coral. There were two ladder sort of things set up across from each other separated by several meters and each person got three balls (which were each really two balls connected with a string) to throw and see if you could land on certain rungs. Each rung higher was more points. It was kind of hard at first, but soon enough us older people got the hang of it and it was fun.
After playing that and then eating and visiting and playing the game again some more, Bryn and I and Jodi, Julie and Cherry decided to go explore Lookout Mountain. Other people wanted to leave and go rest for a bit so we took off all squished into one car and found Point Park. We were disappointed at first because we thought you had to pay to get in when we saw the turnstiles, but then we realized there were no people taking money and all the gates were open, so we just went in and really enjoyed ourselves as we walked around. We took a bunch of fun pictures and just had a great time hanging out together. Then we realized it was getting late so we quickly drove by Rock City and then down the other side of the mountain and back to Collegedale to change into warmer clothes.
Soon after, we left for Cleveland where my parents had their fifth-wheel parked and joined our family and Jonathan's family for a worship and then meal of hot dogs and other fire-roasted-type foods. It was delicious and again I ate too much, especially when the marshmallows were opened! And then we all left and now I'm about ready to fall into my bed, smoky smelling and all. Wow, what a busy day.
Before lunch was fully ready some of us played a game that Mark and Terrie had brought along for their kids, Tucker and Coral. There were two ladder sort of things set up across from each other separated by several meters and each person got three balls (which were each really two balls connected with a string) to throw and see if you could land on certain rungs. Each rung higher was more points. It was kind of hard at first, but soon enough us older people got the hang of it and it was fun.
After playing that and then eating and visiting and playing the game again some more, Bryn and I and Jodi, Julie and Cherry decided to go explore Lookout Mountain. Other people wanted to leave and go rest for a bit so we took off all squished into one car and found Point Park. We were disappointed at first because we thought you had to pay to get in when we saw the turnstiles, but then we realized there were no people taking money and all the gates were open, so we just went in and really enjoyed ourselves as we walked around. We took a bunch of fun pictures and just had a great time hanging out together. Then we realized it was getting late so we quickly drove by Rock City and then down the other side of the mountain and back to Collegedale to change into warmer clothes.
Soon after, we left for Cleveland where my parents had their fifth-wheel parked and joined our family and Jonathan's family for a worship and then meal of hot dogs and other fire-roasted-type foods. It was delicious and again I ate too much, especially when the marshmallows were opened! And then we all left and now I'm about ready to fall into my bed, smoky smelling and all. Wow, what a busy day.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Photoshoot day
Oh my goodness, so much has happened, just in one day. Last night Bryn got the directions to Jodi's auntie's (Dr. Penner of the music department) house and we took them and they eventually led us to the right place, but it was all on very back roads and places we had never been before. Then, when we were there, Dr. Penner said that we could have just taken Apison Pike to their road if she had realized we lived that close to it, so we tried that on the way back and it worked out great and was a lot shorter.
This morning Bryn and I went to grad practice at the gym, which was actually a good thing to attend so that we knew all about what was supposed to happen during the weekend and especially on Sunday morning. After that, Bryn had to rehearse with Renee for the special music for vespers tonight so I trailed along with them to the church only to find that it was nurses pinning practice there. So we went to the music building and they practiced there. I offered my services as a page turner and so I guess I practiced too. Then we met up with my mum and carpooled to pick up Jodi and Cherry. While we were driving back from getting them, my friend Julie called me and said she was almost to our apartment so we gave her instructions to get to the Greenway parking lot and we met her there and then all six of us drove downtown to Coolidge Park. Bryn and I had brought along our grad gear and my mum took pictures of all of us riding the carousel together and then pics of Bryn and I in our grad outfits. Once we'd used up all our tickets for the carousel, we went outside to the waterpark and played around and got pictures there too for a few minutes before heading back to Ooltewah.
We joined with the rest of our extended family and drove out to Ruth's Florists and Gifts where my mum and Bryn and I had made plans to take some family pictures. I had asked Emily, a photography major, to take pictures for us and so that took up the next hour or so. She took tons of pictures and I was pretty surprised that my certain members of my family were so good-natured and happy about the whole thing. I think it was because it was a nice area to walk around and enjoy when not in pictures. After pictures were done, we drove to the Golden Corral for supper before heading back to Collegedale/Ooltewah area and getting ready for vespers. Jonathan's family saved us seats and the whole big group took up about two whole rows. Bryn did great in the special music and I don't think I really messed up with the turning pages so that was good, too. After vespers, the young people went to Hymn Sing (the last one for me ever, which is really sad to think about) and then came back to our apartment to talk and hang out until people left to go to sleep. And now I think I'm going to go to sleep too. I have to get up early tomorrow to get to S.S. in time.
This morning Bryn and I went to grad practice at the gym, which was actually a good thing to attend so that we knew all about what was supposed to happen during the weekend and especially on Sunday morning. After that, Bryn had to rehearse with Renee for the special music for vespers tonight so I trailed along with them to the church only to find that it was nurses pinning practice there. So we went to the music building and they practiced there. I offered my services as a page turner and so I guess I practiced too. Then we met up with my mum and carpooled to pick up Jodi and Cherry. While we were driving back from getting them, my friend Julie called me and said she was almost to our apartment so we gave her instructions to get to the Greenway parking lot and we met her there and then all six of us drove downtown to Coolidge Park. Bryn and I had brought along our grad gear and my mum took pictures of all of us riding the carousel together and then pics of Bryn and I in our grad outfits. Once we'd used up all our tickets for the carousel, we went outside to the waterpark and played around and got pictures there too for a few minutes before heading back to Ooltewah.
We joined with the rest of our extended family and drove out to Ruth's Florists and Gifts where my mum and Bryn and I had made plans to take some family pictures. I had asked Emily, a photography major, to take pictures for us and so that took up the next hour or so. She took tons of pictures and I was pretty surprised that my certain members of my family were so good-natured and happy about the whole thing. I think it was because it was a nice area to walk around and enjoy when not in pictures. After pictures were done, we drove to the Golden Corral for supper before heading back to Collegedale/Ooltewah area and getting ready for vespers. Jonathan's family saved us seats and the whole big group took up about two whole rows. Bryn did great in the special music and I don't think I really messed up with the turning pages so that was good, too. After vespers, the young people went to Hymn Sing (the last one for me ever, which is really sad to think about) and then came back to our apartment to talk and hang out until people left to go to sleep. And now I think I'm going to go to sleep too. I have to get up early tomorrow to get to S.S. in time.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Everyone arriving
Last night my dad took us (and the friends and family who had already arrived) out to supper at P.F. Chang's. Right before we were seated, Cherry called and said she was almost at Groome Transporation, so my dad, Bryn and Josh left to go pick her up. We waited to order until they got back and then we all ate really good Asian food and had tons of leftovers to send back to Ty who didn't come because he was on duty in the dorm.
This morning Cherry took my car and left early (like the kind of early that is so early humans shouldn't even be awake yet) and drove to Atlanta to pick up another friend Jodi who flew in there. I spent the late morning and early afternoon sitting on the porch at Jonathan's apartment trying to get some grading done of the Pub. Editing final newsletter projects, while his family worked at packing up his stuff. I tried to keep in touch with my dad and also with my mum who was supposed to be flying into Chattanooga at 4 p.m. Unfortunately, the person who was pushing the wheelchair for my grandma (who was traveling out with my mum) walked too slowly and they missed their flight from Atlanta to Chattanooga. My mum, apparently, was really angry with all the people involved in the situation and because of her persistence to have them remedy the situation, they got them onto the next flight into town and bumped some of the airline workers who were trying to get free flights.
Once we knew their new arrival time, my dad, my uncle and I went to the airport to pick them up. After waiting and waiting for the luggage to come, the carousel stopped and we didn't see the luggage anywhere, so my mum went to investigate and found out it had come on that earlier flight that they had missed. So it all turned out alright. We brought my grandma to the hotel where she was reunited with my grandpa and she left her stuff there and then we all went out to Cracker Barrel. Cherry and Jodi, who had just gotten back from Atlanta, met us there with Bryn, Ty and my cousin Breanna. After supper, they all came back to our apartment to hang out and talk for a bit before everyone headed out to their respective sleeping places. And now Bryn and I are about to leave to take Jodi and Cherry and Jodi's auntie's place where they are staying for the weekend.
This morning Cherry took my car and left early (like the kind of early that is so early humans shouldn't even be awake yet) and drove to Atlanta to pick up another friend Jodi who flew in there. I spent the late morning and early afternoon sitting on the porch at Jonathan's apartment trying to get some grading done of the Pub. Editing final newsletter projects, while his family worked at packing up his stuff. I tried to keep in touch with my dad and also with my mum who was supposed to be flying into Chattanooga at 4 p.m. Unfortunately, the person who was pushing the wheelchair for my grandma (who was traveling out with my mum) walked too slowly and they missed their flight from Atlanta to Chattanooga. My mum, apparently, was really angry with all the people involved in the situation and because of her persistence to have them remedy the situation, they got them onto the next flight into town and bumped some of the airline workers who were trying to get free flights.
Once we knew their new arrival time, my dad, my uncle and I went to the airport to pick them up. After waiting and waiting for the luggage to come, the carousel stopped and we didn't see the luggage anywhere, so my mum went to investigate and found out it had come on that earlier flight that they had missed. So it all turned out alright. We brought my grandma to the hotel where she was reunited with my grandpa and she left her stuff there and then we all went out to Cracker Barrel. Cherry and Jodi, who had just gotten back from Atlanta, met us there with Bryn, Ty and my cousin Breanna. After supper, they all came back to our apartment to hang out and talk for a bit before everyone headed out to their respective sleeping places. And now Bryn and I are about to leave to take Jodi and Cherry and Jodi's auntie's place where they are staying for the weekend.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Burritos
Mexi-bar is definitely my favourite cafeteria supper. Most days I forget to call the cafe and find out the menu for the day, but today I remembered and it was mexi-bar. Needless to say, I got pretty excited. And I called at 11 a.m., which meant there was 6 hours to wait until I could stand in line for my burritos. It was a long 6 hours but I managed to make it to the appointed hour. Of course, when Jonathan and I actually got to the cafe there was a line, but finally I had my two burritos sitting on the table (well in the tray...not just right on the table) in front of me. I ate both, plus some yogurt and actually wanted to go back for more. Jonathan said my stomach would never fit anything else, so I bet him that I could eat another whole burrito. He wisely declined the bet and, a few minutes later, I was glad; I was rather full. Now, later in the evening and hungry again, I'm wishing I'd gotten two more in a take-out tray. Seriously, burritos are sooo good.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Free ice cream
After playing for and sitting through two nearly identical sermons at church today, I was ready for something interesting. (Random comment about the church services: For special music, we played the anthem Dr. Ashton wrote for the upcoming GC. If you want to hear it, click here.) Several people came over to our apartment for lunch and then later in the afternoon some of us went on a hike at Signal Point. Jonathan and I braved putting our feet in the stream at the bridge but couldn't leave them in the freezing water more than a few seconds. We ventured off the trail downstream a little ways, hoping to find the waterfall, but decided to turn back so we wouldn't miss Josh, Bryn and Danielle, who were hiking behind us. We met up with them on our way back and hiked back to the parking lot together.
After a brief stop at the dorm and our apartment again, we went over to Jonathan's grandparents house for a haystack supper. Jonathan's mum, who was here for the weekend to hear our orchestra concert, greeted us in her pajamas. After we ate, the rest of us also changed into pajamas before heading down to Brusters Real Ice Cream on Jenkins Rd. A crowd of people and a traffic jam of cars met us as we pulled into the parking lot. Tonight was customer appreciation day at Brusters. They were serving free ice cream and the only stipulation was that you had to be wearing your pajamas to get a free waffle cone of ice cream. This proved to be a problem for Jonathan who had no pajamas. He ended up having to trade his shorts for his cousin's pajama pants, but eventually even he got a free ice cream cone. We left from Brusters and went straight to Asian Night where we ate more free food. All in all, it was a good day for doing out-of-the-ordinary events and eating a lot of good food for no money, a college student's dream.
After a brief stop at the dorm and our apartment again, we went over to Jonathan's grandparents house for a haystack supper. Jonathan's mum, who was here for the weekend to hear our orchestra concert, greeted us in her pajamas. After we ate, the rest of us also changed into pajamas before heading down to Brusters Real Ice Cream on Jenkins Rd. A crowd of people and a traffic jam of cars met us as we pulled into the parking lot. Tonight was customer appreciation day at Brusters. They were serving free ice cream and the only stipulation was that you had to be wearing your pajamas to get a free waffle cone of ice cream. This proved to be a problem for Jonathan who had no pajamas. He ended up having to trade his shorts for his cousin's pajama pants, but eventually even he got a free ice cream cone. We left from Brusters and went straight to Asian Night where we ate more free food. All in all, it was a good day for doing out-of-the-ordinary events and eating a lot of good food for no money, a college student's dream.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Different cooks
He loved to cook; she didn't. He burned everything he made. When she actually had to cook, she worked for hours, slaving over intricate menus and completing each dish with fancy garnishes. Maybe that's why she didn't love, or even like, cooking. Everything had to be just perfect for her meals. When they ate what she cooked everyone sat at the huge oak dining room table and they had to use proper etiquette to impress their visitors. He just liked to have fun in the kitchen, experimenting with flavours and concocting new recipes. Much to her amused dismay, and his nonchalance, the recipes never worked out, though he ate them anyway and shared them with her. He'd scoop the remains of a newly-tried-out idea onto one large plate, grab two forks from the silverware drawer, and hand one to her. They squished onto one cushion of the long black leather couch and ate the destroyed food, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. He usually made the meals . . .
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Geesffvoxasyiody
This is to be the name of my future cat. Jonathan and I invented this name in a collaborative effort (ie. each of us taking turns to hit random keys on my keyboard). I think it's great. Now all I need is a cat. And a nickname for that cat because I haven't yet figured out how to pronounce that name. My initial nicknames are Geesie and Yiody (i'm sure you can figure out where I got those from). Feel free to add some more to the comments for this post.
Today was busy. We had to be at the church at 3 p.m. for a pre-concert orchestra rehearsal. Our concert started at 4 p.m. (well, actually just a few minutes past 4 since no respectable Adventist event should dare start on time) and ended about 5:45 p.m. I thought the concert, as a whole, went pretty well. Our first piece probably shocked the entire audience a bit, which is why they might not have clapped long enough to give the first soloist a curtain call but, as my older brother pointed out during intermission, she cleaned up on the flowers front so I guess that equaled out the no-curtain-call thing. All seven of the soloists did pretty good on their pieces and there weren't any memory slips or huge mess-ups (from either the soloists or the orchestra) that I could tell. After the concert I went and talked to my older brother and his family, who came to our concert since it was earlier in the afternoon than usual, and then I had to go.
A little later Jonathan and I came back to campus and had a exemplary (and completely filling) meal in Tuscany (ie. the Presidential Banquet room). It was a new experience for me, but it was a good time and, like I already mentioned, the food was amazing. I just want to let everyone who reads my blog know that I love Fettucini Alfredo! Always have, always will. Those Italians are some great food-inventors!
Today was busy. We had to be at the church at 3 p.m. for a pre-concert orchestra rehearsal. Our concert started at 4 p.m. (well, actually just a few minutes past 4 since no respectable Adventist event should dare start on time) and ended about 5:45 p.m. I thought the concert, as a whole, went pretty well. Our first piece probably shocked the entire audience a bit, which is why they might not have clapped long enough to give the first soloist a curtain call but, as my older brother pointed out during intermission, she cleaned up on the flowers front so I guess that equaled out the no-curtain-call thing. All seven of the soloists did pretty good on their pieces and there weren't any memory slips or huge mess-ups (from either the soloists or the orchestra) that I could tell. After the concert I went and talked to my older brother and his family, who came to our concert since it was earlier in the afternoon than usual, and then I had to go.
A little later Jonathan and I came back to campus and had a exemplary (and completely filling) meal in Tuscany (ie. the Presidential Banquet room). It was a new experience for me, but it was a good time and, like I already mentioned, the food was amazing. I just want to let everyone who reads my blog know that I love Fettucini Alfredo! Always have, always will. Those Italians are some great food-inventors!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Warren Miller
Preposterous! I've never in my live had church cancelled (except for during Campmeeting, but even then it's just the smaller churches in our Valley that are cancelled; the biggest church always has services). But today all the churches in the vicinity were cancelled. Well, at least all of them except for the McDonald Rd. church and the East Ridge church. Jonathan and I decided to make the arduous journey to the McDonald Rd. church where we saw a church filled with members. Funny that they had all been courageous enough to brave the terrible winter conditions (ie. wet roads and soggy side-of-the-road snow). The church service was good except for the sermon, which I felt was a very American-bias presentation about religious liberties. I made numerous notes on the back of bulletin inserts detailing my opinions about the sermon, but maybe I should keep them private. They weren't all that nice.
After church we went home where all the people who didn't brave the winter roads were making lunch. It was amazing and I ate more than a great white shark. Then I sat around talking to Jonathon and Jonathan and the other people at my apartment. Jonathan decided he wanted to make his dirt cake then so he worked on that. It went well except for the part where he tried to make the middle layer out of non-instant pudding. He was using an electric egg beater, but the mixture of pudding mix and milk wasn't getting firm. He consulted Stephen who told him he had the wrong type of pudding and told him to put it on the stove and bring it to a boil for the concoction to become pudding-like. Jonathan did without reading the directions on the box, therefore the baby pudding burned before it became it reached its adulthood. Jonathan decided to retire from cake-maker until after sundown and we all played a short game of Bible Apples to Apples and then Stephen and JT left so Stephen could get ready for Evensong. A bit later the rest of us went to the church for Evensong. Then Jonathan and I made a Walmart run to get instant pudding. We went back to my apartment where Jonathan successfully finished the dirt cake and put it in the freezer to freeze and then we ate a quick supper before heading back to campus for the Warren Miller film. I always go to watch the Warren Miller movies and this year lived up to my expectations. I have to say that my absolutely favourite part of the film this year was a segment where this guy strapped a Florida alligator to a snowboard and let it crawl-slide its way to the bottom. The last clip in that section showed the beast with its mouth open in a huge alligator smile! It made me laugh. I like things that are out of the ordinary and this Sabbath definitely was one of those kinds of days.
After church we went home where all the people who didn't brave the winter roads were making lunch. It was amazing and I ate more than a great white shark. Then I sat around talking to Jonathon and Jonathan and the other people at my apartment. Jonathan decided he wanted to make his dirt cake then so he worked on that. It went well except for the part where he tried to make the middle layer out of non-instant pudding. He was using an electric egg beater, but the mixture of pudding mix and milk wasn't getting firm. He consulted Stephen who told him he had the wrong type of pudding and told him to put it on the stove and bring it to a boil for the concoction to become pudding-like. Jonathan did without reading the directions on the box, therefore the baby pudding burned before it became it reached its adulthood. Jonathan decided to retire from cake-maker until after sundown and we all played a short game of Bible Apples to Apples and then Stephen and JT left so Stephen could get ready for Evensong. A bit later the rest of us went to the church for Evensong. Then Jonathan and I made a Walmart run to get instant pudding. We went back to my apartment where Jonathan successfully finished the dirt cake and put it in the freezer to freeze and then we ate a quick supper before heading back to campus for the Warren Miller film. I always go to watch the Warren Miller movies and this year lived up to my expectations. I have to say that my absolutely favourite part of the film this year was a segment where this guy strapped a Florida alligator to a snowboard and let it crawl-slide its way to the bottom. The last clip in that section showed the beast with its mouth open in a huge alligator smile! It made me laugh. I like things that are out of the ordinary and this Sabbath definitely was one of those kinds of days.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Birthday cakes
I ate two cakes today. Not two whole cakes, but two cakes nonetheless. Danielle came over yesterday to make an ice cream cake and I helped. She actually got the ice cream layer in a round cake tin and put it in the freezer on Saturday night and then got Bryn to bake the German chocolate cake part then too, while we were playing games. We used the extra cake batter to make cupcakes. Then today she made the in-between holding-the-two-parts-together layer out of crushed golden Oreos, fresh (amazing looking) strawberries and vanilla icing. Previous to making the cake she'd asked me for my ingredient-preferences, but since I really didn't know anything about making ice cream cakes, she made some executive decisions too. Anyway, she whipped up the middle layer and then we quickly put the three layers together and spread icing over the whole cake. She used green decorative icing to write my name and add some other creativeness as well. Then we put the cake back in the freezer to await today's supper. Only a few minutes after the ice cream cake was safely stored away there was a knock at our apartment door. It was my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece dropping a chocolate bunt cake off, a day in advance, for my birthday. So I had a lot of cake to consume at supper tonight. In addition to cake we had four cheese pizzas and two pans of breadsticks, which disappeared rather quickly. After eating, some people had to leave, but the rest of us figured out how to play Set Cubed, which was confusing at first but got easier once we read the instructions. All in all, it was a good way to celebrate.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Geocaching
Jonathan took me geocaching this afternoon and even though we didn't get too far away from campus (actually, we didn't even get off campus) or find many geocaches, I had a blast. We managed to figure out how to set his GPS so that we could see the general vicinity of the geocaches, but he forgot to print out the descriptions so that we could actually find them. So basically he just took me to some that he already knew about. We discovered that we needed to make up nicknames to write on the "guest lists" of who had found the geocaches, so I guess we'll have to come up with some of those by the next time we go geocache hunting. Anway, it was really fun to hunt around and try to find the geocaches. I've found geocaches accidentally before, but never actually gone real geocaching so it was definitely an experience. Apparently Southern is one of the most densely packed areas of geocaches so there's a lot for us to find the next time we make another hunting attempt.
This evening Ty, Stephen, Nathan, Jonathan, Danielle, Breanna and her roommate Svetlana came over to our apartment for supper. Stephen was so thrilled to be able to have a kitchen to cook in that he did all the cooking by himself. He made what seemed to me to be an infinite of Ichiban packages and tons of grilled cheese sandwiches, as well as cooking my lentils for me. I ate like a pig and it was awesome. After supper we played Dutch Blitz and 7-Up, which was just as awesome. Game nights are great!
This evening Ty, Stephen, Nathan, Jonathan, Danielle, Breanna and her roommate Svetlana came over to our apartment for supper. Stephen was so thrilled to be able to have a kitchen to cook in that he did all the cooking by himself. He made what seemed to me to be an infinite of Ichiban packages and tons of grilled cheese sandwiches, as well as cooking my lentils for me. I ate like a pig and it was awesome. After supper we played Dutch Blitz and 7-Up, which was just as awesome. Game nights are great!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Food-gathering
I graded today after my classes and got all the assignments done, which made me happy. When I was clocking out I heard Ty's laugh drifting out of the rapidly shutting video-editing/TV-studio area door; I missed grabbing the door before it closed so I rapped loudly with my ID card, which I already had in my hand to clock out and another student opened the door. I went and watched what Ty had edited so far on his music video and then we decided to have a supper together tomorrow night so we called Stephen (who Ty had been planning to cook Sabbath supper with) and Ty and I met him in the VM to play the food-gatherer role and now I'm already getting hungry for Ichiban noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Etiquette dinner
Last week Mrs. Herod asked me via e-mail if I would consider being a server for the Meet the Firms class etiquette dinner, which took place tonight. I responded that I wouldn't mind helping out as long as it was OK for me to come a bit late, after orchestra got out. She asked whoever was in charge and they said it was all right. So that's how I found myself dressed in black pants and a white shirt in orchestra this evening. I dashed (in my car) over to Wright Hall as soon as orchestra was over, clocked in (yay for getting paid), and helped the rest of the servers set up the tables for the meal. The other servers (including Robby), who had got to the Presidential Banquet room at 5 p.m., had been served a meal while they were given instructions on the proper way to serve. Since I came late I missed both the server-meal and the instructions, so Mrs. Thompson (the secretary for the English department), gave me a brief five-minute version. I remembered most of the serving protocol from last year when I'd sat through the Meet the Firms etiquette dinner, so it wasn't too hard to get myself up to speed.
There was also a hand-out with a schedule of when to serve the different foods and diagrams of how to set the tables. I made sure to look over which side to serve/take away dishes. (Serve from the left, remove dishes from the right [because those both start with R], and pour the drinks from the right.) I have some trouble with differentiating left and right (yeah, I know it's weird, but hey, I'm only human), so I wanted to make sure I got that down pat. Then we finished getting the tables ready by putting the juice and water at each place setting. The cafe manager lady had forgotten to take the drinks out of the freezer when she was supposed to, so both the juice and the water (which had been already poured in glasses before being put in the freezer) were quite frozen. Mrs. Thompson assured us they would be melted and back to their normal state by the time the students showed up. After giving us a few last minute instructions and assembling all of us servers together for a picture and then another one with all the secretaries of the various departments that take part in the Meet the Firms class, we were shooed off into the side room where we waited while the students arrived and chose seats.
As the etiquette lecture began all the servers filed out and stood at the back of the room. We diligently watched our tables to watch for glasses that needed filling, empty plates that needing to be taken away, or other server-type activities. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my table was filled with students I knew. I was most amused that my brother just happened to sit at my table. His roommate and a couple other people I knew also had sat at that table, so it was fun to serve them. I saw many other people I know, as well, including Christen, who I hope will blog about her experiences at the meal. I wonder what her thoughts were on the whole meal. I think for the most part I remembered my lefts and rights just fine and I didn't have trouble knowing which side I was supposed to serve or remove dishes from. The whole meal flowed pretty smoothly, at least in my opinion. The students had started arriving for the meal at 7 p.m. and we were done cleaning up all the tables after dessert and signing out by 8:05 p.m. All in all, it was an interesting experience, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be a waitress for the rest of my life.
There was also a hand-out with a schedule of when to serve the different foods and diagrams of how to set the tables. I made sure to look over which side to serve/take away dishes. (Serve from the left, remove dishes from the right [because those both start with R], and pour the drinks from the right.) I have some trouble with differentiating left and right (yeah, I know it's weird, but hey, I'm only human), so I wanted to make sure I got that down pat. Then we finished getting the tables ready by putting the juice and water at each place setting. The cafe manager lady had forgotten to take the drinks out of the freezer when she was supposed to, so both the juice and the water (which had been already poured in glasses before being put in the freezer) were quite frozen. Mrs. Thompson assured us they would be melted and back to their normal state by the time the students showed up. After giving us a few last minute instructions and assembling all of us servers together for a picture and then another one with all the secretaries of the various departments that take part in the Meet the Firms class, we were shooed off into the side room where we waited while the students arrived and chose seats.
As the etiquette lecture began all the servers filed out and stood at the back of the room. We diligently watched our tables to watch for glasses that needed filling, empty plates that needing to be taken away, or other server-type activities. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my table was filled with students I knew. I was most amused that my brother just happened to sit at my table. His roommate and a couple other people I knew also had sat at that table, so it was fun to serve them. I saw many other people I know, as well, including Christen, who I hope will blog about her experiences at the meal. I wonder what her thoughts were on the whole meal. I think for the most part I remembered my lefts and rights just fine and I didn't have trouble knowing which side I was supposed to serve or remove dishes from. The whole meal flowed pretty smoothly, at least in my opinion. The students had started arriving for the meal at 7 p.m. and we were done cleaning up all the tables after dessert and signing out by 8:05 p.m. All in all, it was an interesting experience, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be a waitress for the rest of my life.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Cardboard Boat Races
I went to second service by myself this morning. I haven't gone to anything by myself for a long time and it was interesting to do that again. Although the sermon was good, I have to admit, I did a fair amount of people-watching. After the service Jonathan, who was singing in I Cantori, came and found me and then Stephen, who was sitting a few rows behind me but didn't see me until the end of the service, came up to talk to us too. Danielle, also sitting behind me, moved up to talk, too. I moved farther back in the sanctuary and saved places for Bryn, Ty and some of their friends and then stayed for the first half of third service to participate in song service. Then I went home to start getting lunch ready. I noticed a lot of lint on my jacket when I took it off so I got distracted with de-linting my coat with a lint brush for awhile. I also got distracted by a list of notable Adventists on wikipedia. It was really intriguing. Here is is in case you're interested. Then I stopped being distracted and got to work on making burritos. Danielle came over and brought twice baked potatoes. I'd never had those before but they were pretty good. I ate like a pig and was absolutely stuffed. Then we met up with some people at Wright Hall and carpooled to The Lantern where we sang hymns to the residents. A few people brought instruments and John's cello was passed around from cellist to cellist during the time we were there. I was so full I kept feeling like I was going to burst (and feeling like I was singing off tune), but I somehow managed to stay all in one piece. Christen was in our group and I talked to her for a little bit and then we ended up standing next to each other and sharing a hymnal. It was nice to see here again. I told her we missed her in ACW. After singing we went to Jonathan and Tim's apartment for worship and then went off to hear Stephensong (Danielle's word for Evensong when Stephen plays), which was good. From there we went to the gym to watch the beginning of the Cardboard Boat construction. I was convinced to leave after a few minutes. We picked up Nathan and then Bryn, Ty, Nathan, Danielle and I went back to our place and finished off the burritos and a bunch of other food, too.
Nathan and I had a discussion about Advanced News Reporting, which he's in right now and I took last winter semester. Then we started counting up the writing classes we've been in (not only W classes, but ones where the main emphasis of the class is writing, too). Here's my list in chronological order.
At WWC: Honors Writing I, Honors Writing II, Magazine Article Writing
At SAU: College Composition 2 (since I didn't take Research Writing at WWC), Writing for the Media, News Reporting, Expository Writing, Advanced Reporting, World Religions, Creative Writing, Mass Communication & Society, Literary Journalism, Advanced Creative Writing. Other classes in which I've had to write a research paper: Intro to Communication, Media & the Presidential Election, Communication Research
I think that's a pretty hefty list and I'm not even completely sure I've thought of everything.
Anyway, after eating we rushed back to campus and headed into the gym to watch the parade of completed cardboard boats and then followed the parade to the pool where we watched the teams compete. I knew quite a few people on various teams so it was fun to cheer for them and take pictures. Jonathan and Christen were on the same team and Tim had a team of people I knew, too. Finally, when there were only a few teams left and they looked like they would be going for quite awhile still, I left and came back to my apartment to watch a movie. I heard later on that Tim's team eventually won so that's cool. It was a pretty packed day, but very diverse, which is always fun.
Nathan and I had a discussion about Advanced News Reporting, which he's in right now and I took last winter semester. Then we started counting up the writing classes we've been in (not only W classes, but ones where the main emphasis of the class is writing, too). Here's my list in chronological order.
At WWC: Honors Writing I, Honors Writing II, Magazine Article Writing
At SAU: College Composition 2 (since I didn't take Research Writing at WWC), Writing for the Media, News Reporting, Expository Writing, Advanced Reporting, World Religions, Creative Writing, Mass Communication & Society, Literary Journalism, Advanced Creative Writing. Other classes in which I've had to write a research paper: Intro to Communication, Media & the Presidential Election, Communication Research
I think that's a pretty hefty list and I'm not even completely sure I've thought of everything.
Anyway, after eating we rushed back to campus and headed into the gym to watch the parade of completed cardboard boats and then followed the parade to the pool where we watched the teams compete. I knew quite a few people on various teams so it was fun to cheer for them and take pictures. Jonathan and Christen were on the same team and Tim had a team of people I knew, too. Finally, when there were only a few teams left and they looked like they would be going for quite awhile still, I left and came back to my apartment to watch a movie. I heard later on that Tim's team eventually won so that's cool. It was a pretty packed day, but very diverse, which is always fun.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Rox and Todd
Driving to Lupi's on East Brainerd today was amazing. I rolled my window down a bit on the drive and it felt wonderful. Bryn, Ty, Jonathan and I met my sister-in-law Terrie and her kids, Tucker and Coral, as well as my sister Roxanne and her husband Todd at the restaurant. Rox and Todd had just drove up to Tennessee from Florida last night and wanted to see us at some point during the weekend. My brother Mark was going to try and come for lunch too, but he couldn't manage to get away from work. Even though Mark couldn't be there, we had a good time. I haven't seen Rox and Todd in nearly three years since Feb. 2007 when my dad and I flew down to Florida for a few days after being at a weekend church-growth seminar thing in Tulsa, OK. That was the first time I had met Todd (they got married while we were still in school and only our parents got to make the trip for the occasion). Dad, Rox, Todd and I had a great few days of doing Florida stuff, including boating to an island (and getting caught in a lightning storm on the way back), playing hours worth of Dead Kenny Uno* (definitely more intense than regular Uno), and going to a Tampa Bay Lightning game when Wayne Gretzky brought his Phoenix Coyotes into town. (Tampa won, much to Roxanne's chargrin - she was in love with Gretzky back when he played for the Edmonton Oilers when she was in high school, just like about a billion other Canadian teenage girls.) Anyway, my point is that it's been awhile since I've seen them. Bryn and Ty had actually never met Todd until today so it was nice that they finally got to talk to him a bit. Tucker, Jonathan and I had a fun time playing The Dot Game while we waited for our pizzas, but I made too many dots so we didn't actually finish before our food came. Bryn and Coral played their own game and made much fewer dots so they were done in plenty of time. So basically what I wanted to say in this post is that the company was good, and the pizza was delicious! I love Lupi's with family on a unseasonably warm Friday afternoon in January. Especially when I can drive there with my sun roof open!
*Oops, I guess it's really called South Park Uno. Oh well, here's the extra rule (taken from the ever credible Wikipedia's Uno card game entry). - The special card is called "Dead Kenny". When you play this card, you decide which player will share Kenny's bad luck. You may choose any player's hand to "kill" by having that player draw cards from the DRAW pile. The chosen player must keep drawing cards until he/she draws any card with Kenny on it.
*Oops, I guess it's really called South Park Uno. Oh well, here's the extra rule (taken from the ever credible Wikipedia's Uno card game entry). - The special card is called "Dead Kenny". When you play this card, you decide which player will share Kenny's bad luck. You may choose any player's hand to "kill" by having that player draw cards from the DRAW pile. The chosen player must keep drawing cards until he/she draws any card with Kenny on it.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Unsalted beans
I made rice and beans for supper tonight. The rice was a little bit watery, but nothing too terrible. But the beans, that's another story. I actually cheated. I used canned black beans. I really shouldn't have. I opened the can, poured the beans into a bowl, and warmed them up. Then I tried some. I really shouldn't have done that either. They tasted terrible. I wasn't quite sure why they were so gross until Bryn showed me the can. Not only were they unsalted, but they were also organic. They were awful. Danielle tried to make them edible by adding virtually all the spices we had in our cupboard, but it didn't help. I ended up throwing them out. I guess I'll have to pay more attention to what I buy the next time I get black beans at the VM.
On a less gross-tasting topic, I'm really happy with this week's Accent. For a first issue of the semester, with no help yet from the News Reporting class, I think it turned out rather good. Thanks to those of you who helped me out with writing! You all did a great job!
On a less gross-tasting topic, I'm really happy with this week's Accent. For a first issue of the semester, with no help yet from the News Reporting class, I think it turned out rather good. Thanks to those of you who helped me out with writing! You all did a great job!
Orange tasting
Walking into the SJ&C's conference room (where Literary Journalism has had to relocate to give another professor/class the use of the Mac Lab during that time) was almost like walking into John McPhee's book "Oranges." A clear plastic pitcher displayed frothy yellow orange juice while the block letters on a Tropicana carton, standing beside the pitcher, proclaimed the juice inside was pulp free. Several bags of ripe-looking oranges just begging to be eaten surrounded the containers of juice. (We learned in our reading that, while many people pass over oranges with any spot of green in grocery stores, oranges can be green and fully ripe. The orange colour only happens because of the frost. Some oranges are ripe when they're green while others turn to the typical orange hue we're used to seeing before becoming ripe.) Seven chairs were arranged around the rectangular table, and sitting in front of each was a paper plate and two nesting Styrofoam cups. The only item on the table seeming not to belong in the citrus set was a white box of sugar cubes hiding behind the juice pitcher. Rainey came into the conference room smiling when she saw the spread laid out for our class. We chose seats and waited to find out what would happen during class time today. Dr. Nash and Chris ambled in behind her. "We're going to be doing a taste test before discussing our reading for today," Dr. Nash announced. Angela walked through the door, immediately commenting on how good the room smelled. Emily strode behind my chair. "Oh, good, we get to eat oranges," she said glancing at the table, "I've been craving them since I started reading the book." Dr. Nash had just started to explain how we would use the class period when Aimee opened the door and walked around the table to claim the last empty chair.
That was the start of my most interesting class period of the entire school year so far. Actually it was the best class period since my Advanced Reporting final at the end of last school year, which, ironically, also took place in the SJ&C's conference room. The main difference from that day was the calorie-rich desserts covering the table instead of healthy citrus products. We started today's class period with a taste test of the oranges juices, concentrate versus fresh. Each of us in turn closed our eyes, held out our hands for one of our two Styrofoam cups, and sipped the juice, trying to determine a favourite. The end result was that all five females in the class preferred the Tropicana fresh orange juice (well, Emily said the only difference she could taste was the pulp in the frozen juice, but she still liked the fresh better) while the two males (Dr. Nash included) chose the frozen concentrate. We all agreed the 7-person experiment results were interesting, although not scientific. Then we tried slices of seedless oranges from both California and Florida. Orange experts that we had all become since starting McPhee's book, we easily pointed out the differences between the fruit from each state. (California's oranges have a much thicker peel, look more pleasing aesthetically, and contain less juice. Florida boasts oranges guaranteed to spray juice all over faces and hands while having much thinner skin and a slightly less symmetrically spherical shape.) Next we tried Florida's seedy oranges while copying a strategy of Norwegian children that our book revealed to us. We cut a round hold in the blossom end of the orange, gouging the knife all the way into the fruit and pulled off half an inch of peel around the hole. Then the box of sugar cubes was passed around and each of us pushed a cube deep inside the orange before lifting the entire natural cup to our lips. I have to say, the Norwegians are geniuses! We enjoyed that procedure so much most of us had to try it again with the Californian seed-filled oranges. We ate oranges and drank orange juice to our heart's content before quickly cleaning up sticky hands, faces, and table spaces. Our discussion of the book followed as our stomachs worked to digest the sweet citrus fruit we'd consumed. It was a perfect way to start a class. Now I can't wait to see what we'll do the day we first discuss Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff."
That was the start of my most interesting class period of the entire school year so far. Actually it was the best class period since my Advanced Reporting final at the end of last school year, which, ironically, also took place in the SJ&C's conference room. The main difference from that day was the calorie-rich desserts covering the table instead of healthy citrus products. We started today's class period with a taste test of the oranges juices, concentrate versus fresh. Each of us in turn closed our eyes, held out our hands for one of our two Styrofoam cups, and sipped the juice, trying to determine a favourite. The end result was that all five females in the class preferred the Tropicana fresh orange juice (well, Emily said the only difference she could taste was the pulp in the frozen juice, but she still liked the fresh better) while the two males (Dr. Nash included) chose the frozen concentrate. We all agreed the 7-person experiment results were interesting, although not scientific. Then we tried slices of seedless oranges from both California and Florida. Orange experts that we had all become since starting McPhee's book, we easily pointed out the differences between the fruit from each state. (California's oranges have a much thicker peel, look more pleasing aesthetically, and contain less juice. Florida boasts oranges guaranteed to spray juice all over faces and hands while having much thinner skin and a slightly less symmetrically spherical shape.) Next we tried Florida's seedy oranges while copying a strategy of Norwegian children that our book revealed to us. We cut a round hold in the blossom end of the orange, gouging the knife all the way into the fruit and pulled off half an inch of peel around the hole. Then the box of sugar cubes was passed around and each of us pushed a cube deep inside the orange before lifting the entire natural cup to our lips. I have to say, the Norwegians are geniuses! We enjoyed that procedure so much most of us had to try it again with the Californian seed-filled oranges. We ate oranges and drank orange juice to our heart's content before quickly cleaning up sticky hands, faces, and table spaces. Our discussion of the book followed as our stomachs worked to digest the sweet citrus fruit we'd consumed. It was a perfect way to start a class. Now I can't wait to see what we'll do the day we first discuss Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff."
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