Fused Biofuel

As you may know, I tend to have problems in the kitchen. Mike has periodically banned me from said room but always rescinded the ban when he realized that the counters were not going to clean themselves.

When I move into hyper mode I tend to shove food into my mouth. That food will be whatever is handy at the moment so it can be either healthy or unhealthy. I tend to keep snacks at work that are in between. Healthy when eaten in moderation, unhealthy when eaten to excess. Things like peanuts, whole wheat pretzels, craisins, chocolate covered raisins ... That's what prompted my latest culinary disaster.

I decided to make popcorn.

Not the prepackaged, chemically laden stuff that you stick in the microwave but plain, barely salted popcorn. And I was using our handy dandy microwave popper. And I asked Mike how long to microwave it for.

See what happened?

Need I say more.

On Thin Ice

Really! O.k., maybe not that thin.

After trying their hand (feet?) on the synthetic rink at Natural History, the Squidlings decided that they needed some real ice time.

So, off to The Pond it was. At 8:00 a.m.

Because I'm a nut, that's why.

Two hours later we turned around and came home.

Why no pictures of me? Because I'm the one with the camera! Oh, and I didn't skate. I sat inside knitting and listening to an audio book.
And Mike? He ran errands.

So why was I there? Just in case someone got a boo boo.

Really.

Sea, Air, Space and Squid

Already this week we've visited a couple of major tourist attractions and a minor one. Today we trekked off to see an old friend who had absent for the last 18 months. Back before her renovation, we'd visit the Intrepid once a year or so, walking up along the river to spend an hour or so among the planes and such.

Almost two years ago they closed her for renovations. Usually, when a museum undergoes a renovation, the structure remains in place. Not this one.

In order to rehabilitate the Intrepid, they first had to tow it to dry dock. The towing was supposed to be pro forma but they ran into snags when the propellers stuck in the mud. Ultimately, they did unstick her and off she went.

Now she's returned and better then ever. A fresh coat of paint, some shining up and reallocation of the exhibit space and our old friend is back with us.

We joined Mike's sister and her family at the Intrepid and immediately headed up to the flight deck. The planes on top have also been cleaned up. The stealth fighter was so clean that we could not even see it!

Just joking, here it is.

The kids tried out every model, switch and button that there was to try,

climbed a cargo net (except Squidette)

and hoped in and out of as many vehicles as were available.
They sat on a torpedo,
and lay in a space capsule.

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.

Our Favorite Museum

Continuing our stint as tourists in our own city, we ventured out today to the American Museum of Natural History, our very favorite NYC attraction.

We touched bases with old friends,

and made some new ones.
Gawked at the Origami,
and had some lunch.
Spied a stegosaurus,
and skated on plastic.
In 20 degree temps. Burr!
And then we saw this.
Smack in the middle of the street. 8th Avenue at 26th Street if anyone cares.

Tomorrow ... planes, trains and automobiles. Or not.

Tourists at Home

Continuing what we started yesterday, the Squid once again set out to be tourists in their own city.

Today's destination was the Transit Museum where, unlike yesterday, we have ventured before. The exhibits have not changed much but it is always fun to walk in and out of the old subway cars and play with the turnstiles.

Then we decided to walk back into Manhattan in order to get some Dim Sum at our favorite spot in Chinatown. My original thought was that it would be fun to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge in the falling snow. This was while I was still envisioning the snow as light and fluffy.

Look closely at the temperature in the photo above.

Our innate intelligence took over, however, and we took the Manhattan Bridge instead. The two bridges are mere blocks away in Brooklyn but considerably further apart in Manhattan with the Manhattan Bridge dumping one directly onto Canal Street and Chinatown. The wind was howling and the snow was NOT light and fluffy but rather hard and piercing. Mini drifts swirled around our feet as we descended from the bridge.

Walking quickly to our destination (or as quickly as the perpetually crowded streets of Chinatown will allow) we sat down and practically inhaled our dumplings and a whole pot of tea downed as we warmed up from the walk. Temps in Brooklyn as we crossed the bridge were 28 degrees Fahrenheit (-2 Celsius).

We then tramped around some more in search of red bean pastries for the kids and donuts and bialies for all.

Now home and warm we are settling in for a quiet New Year's Eve. May this year bring you nothing but good things!

Catch Up

In the time since I last posted there have been ...

mittens, (double knit, with elephants)

winter concerts (Squidette is the one directly to the left of the conductor)

Holiday Windows,

and visits with family.
Up to date?

Heart and Phone Breaking

Today was a heartbreaking day. It was also a phone breaking day as I took out some frustrations on my desk phone.

It still works.

After a fashion.

Made my boss laugh ...

That's all I can say about that.

Except ... if you are a parent ... go hug your kids! Please!!! Pretty Please!!!

Make sure they know you love them.

Now!

I'll wait.

Actually I won't wait ... but I'll return another day and show you the massive pile of HotSnapz that arrived yesterday. I'm using one right now. And two kept my hands nice and warm during yard duty. After which I managed to burst one. Oops. Good thing I ordered lots.

Warming Up ... I hope

Lots of research was done this weekend, followed by lots of online purchasing.

Flannel lined khakis and jeans were procured from L.L. Bean, as were fleece lined shoes.

HotSnapZ hand warmers were ordered. (We went to dinner at a friends house and experienced these wonderful, reusable, items. I may have over ordered in my enthusiasm. Or not.)

Wool tights, including a pair of cotton lined tights were ordered.

Sock liners were located.

And the temps are supposed to go into the 40s tomorrow. Which is good since none of this stuff will arrive before Tuesday at the earliest.

It was a quiet weekend but busy. I worked on cleaning a book room at work while the kids were in band practice. This was my fourth Saturday of work on this room. I think one more session will do it. Then on to the next one ...

An adult-only dinner on Saturday and a pre-chanuckah party on Sunday. On to the last full week before break.

A Blanket, Some Mittens and Some Rambling

I've been a busy girl, as is evident from my lack of posting.

Last Saturday night we went to the Opera (The Queen of Spades) and on Sunday Little Squid got his post opera migraine. Which continued into Monday, netting me a half day off of work. When I returned home with Little Squid (he was at work with me until I realized that this migraine was not going away), I decided to tackle the woven squares I'd worked up over the years.

I organized and placed and sorted and, with Little Squid's final approval, started sewing them together. The status as of this post is:

It still needs a final border of the brown blocks -- need to weave 24 more of them -- and several yards more of the jewel green tape. Little Squid is weaving the tape on his inkle loom. For the time being, however, it is serving it's intended purpose as a second couch blanket. One blanket doesn't cut it when you are snuggling with a large child in the middle of a cold winter night.

Then there are the mittens. Knit over the holiday weekend to replace Little Squid's battered bumble bee stripe mittens. They are double knit and, when same color out, the elephants are supposed to be on the back of the hands.

There's been other stuff going on. And all of it takes the form of fantastic blog posts. In my head. As I ride home from work. Yup. Still riding. Managed 2.5 days (5 trips) last week. and 8 trips the week before.

Tomorrow the temperature at 6:30 a.m. is supposed to be 18 degrees.

I might drive.

***

My comforter has been back on my bed for a few weeks now and I must say, snuggling under it after getting throughly chilled at work and on the ride home (can you say "double period yard duty?") has been a wonderful experience. My bedroom is finally a haven again, except for the occasional nasty dream about my former "room mates."

***

Have I mentioned that I love my job again? My staff is fantastic, as are most of the kids. At my old school the goal really seemed to be to take a good school and make it better. Here ... well let's just say that we're not on anyone's top ten list. There's good, honest work to be done and people who can envision the end result. Kids are knitting and crocheting all over the school and that is only making our job easier. Thank you to all who have made this possible!!!

Doing Our Part

Never say that the Squid did not do their part on Black Friday. Despite a total dislike of crowds and such.

See?

We tried to buy more but not one of the three music stores that we hit had oboe reeds. (We went to our favorite Woodwind and Brass store which sent us to Sam Ash which sent us to a different woodwind store. Seems there was a recent run on oboe reeds. No joke.) Squidette did, however, get her clarinet reeds and even got a new type to try. Also in the pile are a few pieces of music for Little Squid to play around with and figure out which one he wants to use to audition for camp. And some battery cases for electronics projects. Never say we don't know how to spend money!

Exhausted from our shopping we then had to take a break at the Charmin Restroom. Where Little Squid suffered the trauma of being locked in his stall. No kidding. He was pretty upset. But then he swung a little and recovered his equilibrium.

Soldering on, we actually ventured to Old Navy, where we stood in front and took a picture of Horton on Macy's. Desperately needing clothing -- Little Squid out grew his pants the other night -- we walked into, and then immediately out of, Old Navy. Have no fear, the jeans have now been purchased from the comfort of my chair. Let's hear it for internet stores!

Tomorrow? Greenmarket, Barnes and Noble and the Tea Salon. And a haircut for Little Squid. Oh -- and an Opera!

Happy Thanksgiving and a Pre-B'day Post

There is oh so much to be thankful for this year but as always, it comes down to the most important things in my life, my family and friends. So to all of you I give a heartfelt "THANKS" and Happy Thanksgiving.

(And my husband would like you all to know that our turkey fryer is autographed by the makers -- Max and Fill.)

And now on to a Pre-Birthday Post (to apparently be followed by a B'day post from Squidette).

For as long as I can remember (and for a few years prior to that) my older sister's birthday has been the day after mine. Given the dates, it is inevitable that most Thanksgiving celebrations include birthday cake (or birthday pie). While we are not together this year, I'd like to share my wishes for my sister with all of my readers.

Marni, you've always been there for me. Through the rough and the easy, through the happy and the sad.

May your day be one of smiles and laughs and happiness!

All of our love!

Happy Birthday!!!

Still Alive and Kicking

I compose brilliant blog posts. Full of details about New York, my kids and my school fill these posts. The posts themselves, however, are composed while I bike to or from school and never make it into the computer. By the time I arrive home, most evenings, I have barely enough time to change out of my biking gear before dinner is served. Then talking to the kids and Mike and general unwinding take priority. And before you know it, it's bed time.

I used to post in the mornings, before going to work. These days, however, I am leaving the house around 6:30 a.m. and am only awake for a mere hour before climbing on my trusty bike and pedaling into the sunrise.

All that is a long winded way of saying I'm sorry and I'll try to post more often.

Today I give you a catch-up post in pictures.

A couple of weeks ago there was apple picking with this lovely specimen. We put pants on it to emphasize the resemblance to a part of our anatomy.

Then there was a rather important bit of elephant surgery. We called it a hat-ectomy. Dumbo's original hat was in tatters so Little Squid crafted a new one and I added snaps to Dumbo's head so we could change hats if we so desire.

There has been some weaving. This one is making me really happy! it is my first real excursion into color and pattern play. It is not coming out as I envisioned it from the draft but this is a good thing as it is coming out even better!

Then there is my shawl. It is the Danish Tie-Shawl from Spin-off Spring 2008. The yarn is home, spindle-spun from Blue Moon roving purchased at Rhienbeck two or three years ago. The yarn has been aging in the stash until just the right pattern came along.
The edging will take a little bit of time to finish ...

There has been more. I finally did my back to school shopping and, thanks to mom, netted four, yup FOUR, long sleeve white shirts. Please don't faint. I had ... wait for it ... zero long sleeve white shirts. One short sleeve, one three-quarter sleeve but no long sleeve white shirts. Now I have four. Until I spill something on them.

Upcoming events include a work "retreat" this weekend. I might be able to finish Little Squid's latest pair of socks since someone else is driving. Squidette still has school interviews and auditions in two weeks but seems to be less stressed then she was before the SHSAT. Little Squid is practicing 3 instruments right now, two in preparation for a camp audition several weeks away.

And there you go, all caught up.

Halloween

Once again it is time to reveal the annual Halloween Costumes.

May I submit for your approval, Hermione and The Swedish Chef.

And ... Elwood Blues.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Tour de ???

(On the left, Yankee Stadium. On the right, Yankee Stadium.)
(Left - Old, Right - New)

We were supposed to ride the Tour de Bronx today. We even started it. After waiting for 2 hours in the cold. Then, after a slow start, the Tour paused again. For at least 15 minutes.

(Waiting in the cold)

We looked at each other, shivering and shaking, and started to back track to the porta-potties we'd spied a quarter mile back . Shortly before reaching what turned out to be really disgusting porta potties (don't ask!) we discovered friends sitting, injured, on the ground. One was o.k., the other had been rear-ended and had chipped a tooth and injured her wrist. They arranged for transport, we waited on line for the above mentioned facilities and then did not use them (yeah, immagine the worst you can and then add excrement). Then we consulted a map and our GPS and made our way home after only 2.5 miles of the tour. It wasn't fun and it was not worth being unhappy.

We had a lovely ride home over the Third Avenue Bridge and across town on 125th Street and the kids agreed that they could indeed do a long ride in these temperatures provided that standing around for 2 hours and stop and go riding was not in the mix.

(Riding bundled up. It really was a glorious day to ride.)

After examining the situation -- when we were riding, Little Squid was leading our pack and quickly making his way to the front of the ride -- we have decided to forgo future rides like this, save perhaps the Tour de Brooklyn.

Our family pace is a bit faster then this kind of ride is geared for but still too slow for the longer ride that went with it (and started at the same time and hence subject to the same delays). There was nothing wrong with this ride, per se, except for the long delay in the start which leaving us shivering in the cold (The ride started almost an hour after scheduled). It just was not what we wanted today.

The ride home, in the glorious sunshine with no stops from 125th Street to 27th Street, was lovely and we were dressed quite appropriately for riding in temperatures in the high 40s. We all had balaclavas (nicknamed Baclavas) and the kids wore jackets purchased for me (over their fleeces). (Squidette wore my brand new riding jacket, Little Squid wore a rain jacket that turned out to be too short in sleeve for me but was never returned, I wore an old biking jacket of Mike's and Mike wore his own stuff.) We were all layered and everyone was shedding a layer or gloves or something before we reached home. Except for me. I'm always cold.

We are planning a ride for two weeks from today. Just us and some friends. If we can figure out a way to avoid the Marathon ...

Next weekend? The Specialized High School Admissions Test, Borough-wide band auditions and ... Apple Picking!

Tipping the Balance

When Mike was about to celebrate his twenty-first birthday, he stated, unequivocally that the probability of him remaining "under 20" was far greater then the probability of him being older then 21.

Well the birthday came and went and, indeed, he was older then 20. He continued to maintain his stance on this, well ... until right now.

Here we are, a scant 20 years later and the balance is about to tip the other way. Having just asked him about this, I can honestly say that he is no longer in denial.

I have to tell you, this insistence on taking a stance and sticking to it is one of the traits that (now) endears him to me.

Long time readers know just how much I love my husband. Just thinking about him brings a tear to my eye and a smile to my face. Even when I'm irked with him.

On his birthday we will "celebrate" by riding the Tour de Bronx.

So, if you happen to come across a large group of bikers tomorrow (in the Bronx, of course) shout out a Happy Birthday to Papa Squid. And say hi to the rest of us!

You Know They are Growing ...

... when you actually have to think about if the jeans you just took from the dryer are hers ... or yours.

Makes sorting the laundry a tad more difficult. But not too much.

We have had a nice, quiet, 3 day weekend here in NYC. The first two days were sunny and warm and we did ... nothing. Barely even got out except to run some errands.

Except for Squidette. She had a mock test in preparation for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT if you care). The test is in less then two weeks. Gulp! Lot of pressure when both of your parents and 5 of your 6 aunts and uncles and one grandparent went to specialized high schools (two schools between the 7 of us).

She also had an annoying project that required hourly recording over an entire day. We helped. I have no problem helping if I feel the project is unreasonable in its expectations and this one expected a 13 year old to be out doors for 8 hours recording the position of the sun using a homemade sundial. In New York City. Where you can't just leave the sundial and return every hour.

We fudged it -- used a windowsill on the east side of the apartment and the balcony on the west side. The teacher did say they could use a window if they absolutely had to.

This leads us to today where I declared "we are going for a ride!"

And we did.

It was so quiet on the paths and, even on the streets, that you almost forgot you were in New York.
Almost.

We rode up to the Intrepid and then down and around the tip of the island, cutting across (from East to West) via the Greenmarket where we scored some leeks for tonight's dinner.

Pastries were also made but I misplaced my camera after documenting them. Oh well, blog fodder for tomorrow.