Sites of All Kinds

A warm winter walk

2012-02-10T21:12:00.002-05:00

Ginger stayed with us for a couple days again this week, and we took a nice long walk together. Since she can't work the camera well, I took a few pictures with her in them.

We headed south from our house to walk in the Eden Park area. There are a lot of nice paths and a string a small parks. One we walked through has an interesting tower:

Here is a close up of some of the tower's details:

We also walked through a park with two duck ponds and a beautiful view of the river. There were many birds flying around when we were there, along with many ducks and geese in the pond. Ginger wanted to get a lot closer to the ducks, but I made her keep her distance. She did watch them for a little while, and she even barked at a couple of them (who ignored her).

Looking towards the ducks:

Looking back towards the river:

Another nice park in the area is Mirror Lake. I took this picture a few days ago, on a clearer day. You can see Kentucky on the horizon on the right. It is a nice lake to walk around, although it is really a shallow artificial pond.

Warm winter?

2012-02-01T23:28:00.002-05:00

We have been having an unseasonably warm winter this year. The last couple days have been especially nice--up to 60 degrees each afternoon and sunny! All this nice weather has me out walking more than usual (for the winter). Today on my walk, I saw these confused crocuses in a neighbor's from yard. The bulbs in our yard are definitely up, but none of them have bloomed (yet). I will let you know if they bloom in the coming days.

And now for something completely different:

We are still eating sushi, since Brian has decided he likes it and I like to practice making the rolls. Here are the filling ingredients I prepped tonight, before making the rolls. I tried using asparagus for the first time, which tasted good.

Steamed dumplings

2012-01-25T14:57:00.002-05:00

I originally bought the bamboo steamer (see previous post for pics) because I wanted to make dumplings and I don't like frying. Yesterday was my first attempt, and I think they came out pretty good. A lot of the filling recipes are mostly ground meat (beef, pork, or chicken), but I wanted to try some with mostly vegetables. So after flipping through a recipe book for a while, I adapted some ideas to make a couple fillings. Filling #1 was ginger, garlic, scallions, yellow pepper, and spinach. Filling #2 was onion, corn, and cilantro, with a healthy shake of hot chili. I cooked the fillings before using them, since then it is easier to know when the dumplings are finished. I also used Filling #3, which was leftover from yesterday's stuffed mushrooms (onion, zucchini, mushroom stems, spicy chicken sausage).

The most time consuming part was filling the dumplings. I used pre-made dumpling wrappers to save time, which worked well. I forgot to take a picture with them all on a plate, but here are a few that I ate last. :)

And now for something completely different, here are the ferrets hanging out together. So cute!

Painting, take 2

2012-01-22T18:46:00.002-05:00

After painting the bathroom last week, I decided to take on the living room, which is a much larger space. In case you don't remember what it looks like, here is a picture from when we moved in:

I woke up Saturday to windows covered in ice (we had a freezing rain storm during the night). Discouraged from venturing out, I decided to tackle the painting. I started at one end, in the side nook, and worked my way around. It took a very long time! As I went along, sometimes I found holes that needed to be patched. The drop clothes needed to be moved a lot. Taping off a border on the ceiling was also difficult, since the slanted walls made the border between wall and ceiling unclear. Still I kept at it and finished very late at night.

My goal of staying in on such an icy day failed when I ran out of painter's tape. Still, the results look pretty good I think. I like how the contrasting color makes the white trim really pop.

All those slanted walls made the painting surface quite large. Yes, the tree is still up.

I took this picture vertically so you could see the ceiling.

This last shot shows one of the chairs we got for Christmas. I think it will look nice once I put together the bookshelf (the box to your left of the chair). Now that the walls are painted, we can finally start to think about hanging up pictures.

Painting

2012-01-18T23:31:00.002-05:00

Brian and I got permission from our landlord to paint some rooms in the apartment. I decided to start with the bathroom, since it is small. I managed to paint it on Monday and Tuesday this week. (I was hoping to finish it all on Monday, but I had some difficulties removing the toilet tank.)

As you can see, it was a boring white (like the rest of the apartment, except the kitchen):

And now, it is a nice, bold green!

On a totally different note, tonight we had vegi tacos. We have been eating a lot more meat-free meals lately. For the tacos, we had sauteed peppers and onions, refried beans, three types of salsa, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese.

Salsa!

More Asian-style cooking: steaming

2012-01-16T23:54:00.002-05:00

I got a steamer last week to try another cooking technique. I went with a traditional bamboo steamer, since I have heard they impart a nice flavor to the food. I tried it out for the first time today. I was surprised how fast the steamer worked.

I used the steamer to make the entire meal:

1) I put some potatoes in the boiling water (the steam source). The metal ring is specially made to use the steamer with a regular pot (instead of a wok).

2) In the top level of the steamer, I put the broccoli.

3) In the bottom level of the steamer, I put a piece of salmon with a glaze, wrapped in foil.

I let the potatoes boil for about 5 minutes before putting the steamer on the pot. After 15 minutes, everything was cooked and dinner was ready. It was great that the whole meal was ready so quickly. Plus, steaming is a very healthy way to cook.

Here is the steamer in action. The steam from the boiling water is circulating through the levels of the steamer, cooking all the food at once.

Overall, I would say the steamer is a great addition to our kitchen. Next time, I think I will try chicken and maybe carrots.

Thursday visitor

2012-01-14T23:08:00.002-05:00

Anne had to leave town for a few days (work trip), so Brian and I got to spend some time with Ginger this week. We watched Ginger for Thursday and Friday, which was the exact time that the largest storm of the season (so far) hit Cincinnati. Ginger seemed to draw strength from the cold and wind: the longer I stayed out with her in an attempt to tire her out, the more energy she seemed to have! Still, we had a very nice time. Brian and I spent some extra time in the front room on Thursday evening, since Ginger is not allowed in the ferret room/office.

That static issue I mentioned before about the ferrets? Ginger had that even more, since she loved to run across the carpet and roll around on it. She built up some serious static! The humidifier I bought helped some. Also, notice the paint color squares on the wall above the curtains. This room is not fully set up because I am planning to paint it. I hope to get started this coming week.

Ginger spent most of her time looking out our windows. There is an entire row facing the street, where she could see our neighbors come and go, the school traffic (there is a school across the street), and the other dogs of the neighborhood getting walked. Exciting!

Adventures in Asian cuisine

2012-01-14T20:41:00.002-05:00

This year, I have been exploring the creation of some Asian-style food in the kitchen. It started with a request from Brian for some dumplings, which I made with a traditional filling of ground meat and hand-formed dumpling wrappers. Those wrappers take some time! Afterwards, Brian said what he really wanted were dumplings filled with vegis, so I started looking around for another recipe. I found one, but decided to use wrappers from the store, to save time. I actually got egg roll wrappers, and we have had vegi-filled egg rolls a couple times. I even instructions for baking them instead of frying. (I fry food very infrequently, so I am not very good at it. And it is such a messy process!)

Anyway, boiling the dumplings got me thinking about getting a steamer, since that is another popular way to cook them. I ordered a bamboo steamer from Amazon (thanks Rick and Karen!). The steamer arrived a couple days ago, and I am excited to try it soon.

Another Asian food I was interested in learning about was sushi. I ordered a few more essential supplies (sushi rolling mat, bamboo rice paddle, seaweed sheets) again from Amazon (again thanks!), and tried it out. My first batch was just vegis, so I could try to get down the rolling motion. I've read a lot about how difficult it is to prepare the rice, but I didn't think it was any more difficult than regular rice. (I know many people who find regular rice difficult too, but I have a lot of practice.) The main difference is that once the rice is cooked, you mix it with a seasoned vinegar and flip it with your rice paddle until it cools down a bit. The rolling mat makes forming the sushi rolls relatively easy. I had some difficulty spreading rice to the very edge of the seaweed sheets, so the end pieces didn't always turn out. Overall though, it seemed to be a good first attempt.

Sushi: first batch. They are all vegi, except for a few at the top, which have some imitation crab. While the crab is made of another fish, it is cooked, so I thought it would be fine for the first try. I really like how the red pepper looks. The sprouts were not very good (in my opinion), and they made it difficult to form a tight roll.

In an attempt to get Brian to appreciate the taste of sushi, I dressed them up with a little soy sauce, some spicy mayo, and some french fried onions. Also, we had some very tasty pickled ginger (the pink stuff on the left).

I made a second batch of sushi today. I found a place with sushi-grade fish, and I got a small piece of salmon to try. (I will be able to tell you in about 24 hours if their fish really was sushi grade, but it looked and smelled fine.) The avocado I had on hand was pretty soft, so these look a bit more messy. Still, it was quite tasty. I managed to get some wasabi for the second batch, which is something Brian enjoyed (I was pretty sure he would, since he loves horseradish). I also tried an inside-out roll (rice on the outside, seaweed on the inside), which didn't turn out very well. I guess I need more practice. (L to R): 1 is salmon, cucumber, and scallions; 2 is salmon and scallions; 3 is avocado, cucumber, carrot, and scallions; 4 is like 3 but with extra wasabi.

Christmas in Columbus, Part 2

2012-01-14T20:28:00.004-05:00

Beautiful tree:

After playing "7 Wonders" with David and Rachel in Holland, Brian and I got a copy, and we started to teach it to Dave and Amy. I was happy to let Brian manage the explanation.

Rick enjoys the role of Santa - hat and all.

Dave's ipad was very interesting to Brian.

Christmas in Columbus, Part 1

2012-01-14T20:11:00.005-05:00

Brian with a card:

Here is the nicest picture I took all day:

What a big present. I wonder what it is?

Awesome! It is a roaster pan!

Amy with a "I Love Lucy" pin:

Dave tried to use Brian's coat to reduce the window's glare, to improve photos. Amy was confused at first.

Dave with a present:

Smiles all around:

Karen with the only Coldwater Creek gift card that was given, despite the multitude of Coldwater Creek gift boxes (which were re-used from previous years).

Rick unwrapping:

A joint gift:

Eve

2012-01-08T23:11:00.004-05:00

As most of you know by now, Eve got sick over Christmas and we had to put her down last week. She developed a large tumor in her chest cavity that was taking up the space her lungs used to breathe, and the tumor was a type that could not be treated with chemo. It was a very difficult decision for us, but we hope it was the right thing to do.

Here are some pictures from Eve's life, from early 2008 to the present. We actually got her in 2007, but those older pictures are not on my computer's hard drive. Still, you can see that she looks younger in the earlier pictures and grows more mature over time.

Eve and me playing on the futon in Florida:

Eve and Brussels, exploring a bowl of cherries, Florida:

Eve, pausing for a picture, Florida:

Rex and Eve, Florida:

Eve resting with Brian, Florida:

Eve, curling up into an "o", being cute, Florida:

Eve peering up at the camera lens, Florida:

(Top to bottom) Brussels, Rex, Chewbacca, Eve:

Eve yawning, Florida:

Eve on the laundry pile, right before we left Florida:

Eve, systematically removing socks from Brian's sock storage box, New Jersey:

Eve, Brussels, and Rex, snuggling in the cage, New Jersey:

Eve and me, having girl talk, New Jersey:

Eve and Rex in their hammock, Columbus, Ohio:

Eve resting in the gator, Columbus:

Chewbacca and Eve playing together, Columbus:

Rex, Chews, and Eve relaxing in Columbus:

Eve in the gator, Columbus:

Eve in Cincinnati with some of her favorite toys:

Eve in her last days, with Rex, who was her constant companion, Cincinnati:

Christmas in Holland, part 3

2012-01-02T21:19:00.003-05:00

These two look Christmasy!

Eli nearly abandoned unwrapping his own gift to check our Josiah's, since he was faster unwrapping. Silly boy.

Three interested boys checking out the book Brian just got.

Josiah watching his Opa unwrap a gift very carefully:

No matter who was unwrapping, these 3 boys were always watching. Oma shows them her new book:

Christmas in Holland, part 2

2012-01-02T21:13:00.002-05:00

Eli was trilled with his birthday gift, although it did lead to some other upset boys. The next day, when it was time to share, everyone was a lot happier.

These little boys like to listen to stories. Here their Oma is reading one.

Merry Christmas toast!

Dad and Eli, petting Ginger:

Since it was Christmas, we had to decorate some cookies. (L to R) Josiah, Mom, Simon, David, Rachel

Christmas in Holland, part 1

2012-01-02T21:04:00.002-05:00

I'm not really in the mood to write a lot, but I wanted to post some pictures from our recent trip to Holland for Christmas. It was really great to see family and spend some time at my parents' house.

Eli's birthday is a few days before Christmas, so we were around to celebrate it. Here are the boys with a cake made my their Aunt Lisa. (L to R) back row: Rachel, Mom, Rachel's Dad; front row: Simon, Eli, Josiah

I visited with some of my friends from high school on our first day in town.

The boys quickly discovered that Uncle Brian had some games on his phone, and never tired of playing with it.

The boys also liked visiting with the ferrets. On this visit, we practiced sitting down on the ground when the ferrets are out so no one gets squished and giving the ferrets water.

ferrets in the new place

2011-12-18T16:17:00.003-05:00

Since we moved out stuff here a week ago, I have been unpacking boxes and doing other work during the day. Still, it seems like there are always more boxes to unpack, and I haven't been taking pictures of the house because of its messy state.

There is one exception to this rule. I am always taking pictures of the ferrets, since they are always being cute. This week, we got a humidifier because the dry air caused a lot of carpet static. The ferrets were rubbing up against the carpet and then surprising themselves with little shocks when they touched their noses on my hands. The humidifier puts out a cool cloud of water vapor. The cloud has fascinated the ferrets. Rex took an open-armed leap at it a couple days ago, and he seemed unhappy he couldn't catch it.

Getting ready for Christmas / Sinterklaas

2011-12-04T21:43:00.001-05:00

This week, I've been in Columbus boxing up our stuff. We are moving on Saturday, so there was a lot to do. Just about everything is ready to go, finally. Last weekend, we decorated a bit for Christmas and celebrated Sinterklaas. After putting together the tree, Brian put on lights and I put on ornaments. The tree is up in the front room, where the lights can shine through the windows.

My parents bought us a pair of leather chairs as an early Christmas gift. They are lovely (and some of our only furniture, until Saturday). This picture is to show off the new chairs. :)

Cincinnati visitors

2011-11-26T13:37:00.002-05:00

This weekend, we had our first Cincinnati visitors: my parents. We might not have our furniture, but it was still great to show off our apartment and do some sight-seeing in our new city.

This is the view from our neighboring street, out to the Ohio River. As you can see, we are quite close to the river. Our street is also a dead end, facing the river, but there are trees and a house impeding the view. The view a couple streets over is much clearer.

We went downtown and saw Brian's work building (from the outside). Right next to it is fountain square (named such because of this fountain). It was really sunny, so the camera was having a little trouble capturing the blue sky. It is a beautiful fountain, even though it is turned off for the winter. The city had set up an ice-skating rink next to it, for December. I was impressed they could keep the ice frozen, since it was in the 50s and sunny yesterday afternoon.
We also visited the Freedom Center, a museum and learning center dedicated to the underground railroad. There are so many exhibits, we didn't have time to see them all. I learned a lot about slavery in the US, modern slavery, and the work of the underground railroad in Ohio. They even have a slave pen (a building used to store newly-purchased slaves), which was moved from a plantation in Kentucky to the museum, that you can go inside. I really liked this sculpture (the slave pen is the log cabin-like structure in the background).
After our time in the museum, I walked with my parents across one of the many bridges into Kentucky. We used the Ruebling Bridge, since it was next to the Freedom Center and has a nice walking lane. It is a beautiful bridge. Designed by the same person as the Brooklyn Bridge, it looks similar to the Brooklyn Bridge. While walking across, we saw several horse-drawn carriages also making the trip.
Ruebling Bridge, with Cincinnati downtown:

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T10:43:00.002-05:00

This year, we went to Peter and Anne's house for Thanksgiving. Peter had to work, so we had a nice dinner together after he got home. My parents are in town for the weekend as well, so we had a great time catching up with family.

Ferrets support Brian's visit

2011-11-08T12:34:00.002-05:00

The ferrets really enjoyed Brian's visit last weekend.

Rex, peeking out from his play tent:

A very sleepy Eve, relaxing:

Brian was a bit tired from the week, so he was easily dominated by the ferret herd. Eve was especially adept at being king of the mountain.

The ferrets kept a close eye on me, too.

Even when he's awake, it is easy for Eve to take control of Brian.

Ferrets

2011-10-26T15:47:00.002-04:00

Brian is in Cincinnati, and the ferrets are still here with me. They seem to be doing pretty good so far, and are enjoying extended play times. Here are a few shots from the past week or so.

New (to us) car

2011-10-15T21:51:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week, Brian and I met with my parents in the Toledo area to pick up our new Civic. It is working really great so far, although I have been reminded again why I avoid the DMV (or BMV, as it's called here in Ohio) at all costs. Still, I hope to get all the paperwork squared away and get plates early next week.

The Civic is the navy car we are all blocking from view. But you probably know what a Civic looks like anyway. :)

We have also been having some really lovely sunsets in the past couple weeks. Here is one I happened to take a picture of, but there have been many more great ones.

Cincinnati apartment: selected!

2011-10-09T13:15:00.002-04:00

Brian and I were in Cincinnati on Friday to look at apartments. We saw quite a variety: tiny ones, huge ones, ones in great neighborhoods, ones in sketchy neighborhoods, etc. We narrowed our choices down to two top contenders. We really struggled to choose the best one for us, but I think we have finally decided!

Here is the one we chose! The apartment is the top level of this house. It is called the maid's quarters, because when the rest of the house was occupied by a (wealthy) family, the maid lived in our apartment. The rest of the house is now broken up into 3 units, and we have the fourth, all the way at the top. We have our own entrance on the side of the building, which I think is nice.

This row of windows can be seen clearly in the outside shot (at the top center of the house). I kind of like the curtains, although I might need to make some new ones, because these are a little short. This is the living room, and there is space for a dining room table where I am standing to take the shot. The ceilings angle in a bit, since we are at the very top of the house.
This is the next-largest room, which we are planning to use for our office/ferret room/general hanging out space. It is hard to see the size from this picture, but the room goes back a bit. There is also a huge closet, which I (Han) am excited about. Across the hall from this room is a similar (but smaller) room, which we will use for a bedroom. We usually choose to sleep in the smallest room, since we don't need a lot of room for sleeping.
The kitchen is in the back of the house. The walls are painted a nice red (which we both like) and the floor is a great black and white checkerboard pattern. I am crouching under the slanted ceiling to take this picture. We might put a little table right where I am standing. The kitchen was one of the big selling points of this apartment for us. The other apartment we were considering was a really cozy, charming place, but the kitchen was so small (this was a much bigger issue for me than for Brian). The counter on the right side of the picture does extend a bit more (the sink is there too), to the wall, where there is a window.
Across the street from this house is a Catholic Montessori school. Most of the other houses down the road towards the river are now occupied by retired nuns who used to teach at the school (or so I was told). Like several others in this neighborhood, the street dead-ends at the top of the bluff, which looks out over the Ohio river. Our street doesn't have a great view of the river because of a large house and private grounds (I'm sure people pay a lot for the view), but a couple streets over, there is a really clear view of the river and community on the other side.

I don't want to post the address here in this blog, since it has public access, but I can email the address to whomever is interested.

Apartment Update

2011-10-07T23:25:00.003-04:00

Today Brian and I took a quick trip to Cincinnati in the afternoon to look at apartments. We have our choices narrowed down to just a couple and will probably decide in the next couple days. All the apartments on the final short list are very close to each other. What I do know: we are moving to East Walnut Hills (d.v.)! Feel free to google to neighborhood to learn a little more about it. We walked around the neighborhood a little bit today, checking out the area and meeting with folks renting out apartments. The area we are focusing on has nice views of the Ohio river (not from the apartments themselves, but just down the road).

Moving soon

2011-10-03T21:30:00.002-04:00

A lot has happened in our lives the last couple of weeks, and our heads are spinning.

In the last post, I talked about our visit to Cincinnati, where Brian interviewed for a job and I visited with Anne. Brian was offered and accepted that job, so we will be moving to Cincinnati quite soon. His start date is October 24th. Between now and then, he will meet with his teaching replacement to sort out class transfer.

I will be sticking around here for a bit longer, since I don't want to give up my class. Still, I am searching for an apartment online and just starting to pack. I have also started a temporary job at a costume shop (part of their Halloween staff). I worked 15 hours last week, but the hours will increase each week until Halloween. This will make the time before Brian's move very busy for both of us, but it is a pretty entertaining job.

Cincinnati visit

2011-09-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Brian and I went to Cincinnati. Brian had an interview, and I tagged along to spend some time with Anne (& Ginger). Anne and I went to lunch, did some she shopping, and hung out around the house. It was great to see her and have a chance to visit.

Ginger was pretty excited to have a visitor too, I think. She showed me several of her toys and did a little running in the backyard to show off the new fence. She is a very attentive dog.

Obama in Columbus

2011-09-14T00:04:00.003-04:00

Today Brian and I went to see President Obama give a speech at a high school in Columbus. The speech closely mirrored the one he gave last week when he introduced the American Jobs Act to Congress. It was a sunny afternoon, and we got hot and a bit sunburned waiting, but it was a fun thing to do together. We even had a decent view, since a large part of the crowd surrounding us was made up of school children, who were nice and short. :)

Brian got the tickets from Columbus State, where he works. They offered them to faculty and staff via email, and he was able to get us a couple.

Here we are, killing time while we wait. We were required to arrive by 1:00 pm, but it didn't start until about 2:30. Unlike when I went to see Jill Biden several years ago, here there was security, with a checkpoint we all had to go through. There were also several sharp-shooters and many guys with huge binoculars, keeping an eye on everyone.

Here is Obama! It was a great speech, and as you can see, we had a decent view.

We had to wait for the president's motorcade to leave before we could exit, but it was pretty fast and I thought it was cool to see. This picture also has one of the many secret service people in it.

The location for this speech was at a high school next to Columbus State (CSCC), so we parked there and walked over. And here's a bit of good news: I will soon also be employed by CSCC! I have a class for the autumn quarter, which starts next week. It's isn't as many hours as I would hope, but it is a start.

Ferrets report it is still hot

2011-09-05T02:39:00.002-04:00

At least, it was until Saturday evening. Now we are enjoying very fall-like weather. Still, at the end of last week, we were suffering in hot and humid weather, and the AC was working hard.

During that time, we got a small baby pool for the ferrets to use to cool off. It turned out that the ferrets didn't much care for actually getting in the pool, but they thought it was a great giant dish to drink from.

Rex encouraging Brian to stay in place by sleeping on his foot:

Rex waiting at the door for me:

Visiting Grandpa

2011-09-05T02:30:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, Brian and I went to visit his grandpa and Virginia in Franklin Furnace. We mainly relaxed at the house. For dinner, we grilled hamburgers and boiled corn. Overall, it was a great visit.

Brian's parents were also there.

The beautiful flowers in the backyard had some squashes growing in them. I didn't see them right away, since they were dwarfed by the other greenery.

The cat is pretty, but she doesn't like people. She only tolerated this photo because I was on the other side of the window. When she wasn't in the side yard, all the feeders were busy with birds all day long.

Aunt Mary moves to Ohio

2011-08-30T14:59:00.003-04:00

Last week, Brian's great aunt Mary moved to Ohio, a few hours north of us. We drove up with Brian's parents to help her get settled and check out the place. It was nice to see Aunt Mary again, meet a few new people, and see some relatives that live pretty close to Aunt Mary's new place. Here are some pictures from that visit.

vegi 'pasta'

2011-08-26T20:24:00.002-04:00

We have been trying to eat more vegis lately, so I have been experimenting with different recipes. One I like is for vegi pasta. There is no actual pasta in this recipe, just vegis that are cut to act as pasta. The original recipe was for zucchini, but I tried it with carrots too and found that is also good.

To start, you put a bit of oil in a pan and saute some onion and mushroom. The first time I made this, I also put in garlic, and that was pretty awesome. This time, I added celery, which was good, but not as good. The mushroom is cut up pretty small so it cooks fast and is less recognizable (as not everyone likes mushrooms). I also add salt and black pepper to the saute (since I like to give my spices some time in the oil to release their full flavor).

While the onion et al are sauteing (or even beforehand), you need to cut your vegi noodles with a vegi peeler. Just cut the vegi into long thin strips (like you are peeling, but continue after the peel is gone). For zucchini, use the peel and the main flesh, discarding the seeds. For carrots, keep turning the carrot, getting as many noodles off each carrot as possible. (Zucchini may need to be dabbed dry with a towel, since they let off a lot of moisture.)

Once the sauteing vegis are looking just about ready (for me, this is brown on the edges), add the vegi noodles. Toss the noodles with the bits of sauted vegis and oil. The noodles will cook in just a minute or two, since they are so thin. Keep turning them to keep distributing the oil, onions, and mushrooms. To finish, add a dash or two of lemon juice and cut the heat.

Here are the results from tonight: carrot and zucchini noodles.

visit to gmas

2011-08-23T18:21:00.004-04:00

I visited several relatives in CA also. It was great to catch up with several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Deb & Joel, on the ranch, after dinner:

Deb has started harp lessons (which I did not know previously), and she let me try it.
The war memorial in Ripon with Grandpa's name on it.
Jill and Henry and soon-to-be-born baby, at Grandma's house:
Grandma by some of her flowers:
Grandpa and Rebecca in the backyard:
Jill and me at her baby shower:
Grandma and Jill at Sheri's house:
Me and my youngest cousin, with a cake Grandma made for my birthday:

Point Reyes visit

2011-08-23T17:58:00.004-04:00

Last week, I was in California for several days visiting friends and family. My first stop was at Michelle and Jamie's house in Petaluma. Petaluma is a beautiful area, with coastal hills and lovely weather. Michelle and I went to Point Reyes. It was a really nice trip, despite the fog. We had a lot of fog right on the coast, so we couldn't always see the sea. We did see lots of happy California cows, as there are many ranches at the point.

We did have some breaks in the fog, as seen here:
The fog is rolling in again behind me. The water on the left of the pic is the sea, while the water on the right is a cove of sorts.

The trees grow sideways because of the wind.
It was really interesting to see several pieces of whale brill in the small museum/ranger station.
These plants were tenaciously holding onto the rock.
Lovely coast, with fog:
This building's white paint was covered by bright orange algae on two sides. The historic lighthouse stands behind this building, but the light and horn are now mounted on this smallish house.

Here is the lighthouse from the top of the steps. The orange house stands just behind and a little lower, out of sight. The fog is thick, so it is hard to see the water.
Some whale bones:

Cow in the mist:
Deer in the mist:

birthdays

2011-08-09T21:17:00.004-04:00

Dave and Amy are visiting Columbus for a few days, so we celebrated my and Dave's birthdays over the weekend. (Dave's birthday was a few days before they arrived.) We had some pizza and cake and presents. It was a nice celebration.

One of the gifts I got was Mexican Train, a game based on dominoes. Here we are playing it.

Presents waiting to be unwrapped:

Dave and Amy with one of his presents. Amy is indicating her favorite picture in the frame.

Me with some candles to blow out:

Dave has some candles too!

Dave cutting cake with his mom. It was quite hard because it was frozen ice cream cake.

My cake with berries - yum!

Brian and I also celebrated my birthday separately before Dave and Amy's visit. Brian got me this delicious oreo cookie ice cream cake.

summer excavations

2011-07-19T14:06:00.003-04:00

This week has been hot and humid here in central Ohio (and many other parts of the US as well, I've heard). I have been trying to get my walk in either early in the morning or after dinner, to avoid the heat as much as possible.

Last Saturday, I took the camera with me to the dig I have been working on just south of Columbus. We are working on an Archaic burial site. The site was identified by the landowner, who noticed several bodies eroding out of a hillside. It has been worked on, at a leisurely pace, for many years (mainly during the summer, on Saturdays). The times I have been there, we haven't found much. But in past years, they have found several burials.

Me and Meg, who I have worked with in the past:

When this excavation unit was opened up in the morning, we discovered mold growing on the walls. It has been a moist summer. This growth took place in one week.

General site shot. In the foreground, you can see the screen, which is used to process all the dirt we excavate. It is really easy to miss artifacts (especially small ones) when you are digging, so the screen is a way to catch those artifacts. A couple weeks ago, we found a small bead this way. In the background, you can see one of the excavation units currently open and behind that, some of the tarps we use to close the units each week.

Here I am in one of the open units. We were extending the unit east to uncover more of a pit.

A couple of students working at the bottom of the pit. We all take turns.

Here is one of the excavation units all closed up for the day. There are several layers of wood and metal under the tarps, which are held down by rocks. This is to protect the units from weather (we have been having strong rain storms) and cows (who walk all over this area when we are gone).
It was pretty hot already on Saturday, so we needed a lot of water to keep cool (although I drank most of mine). Here you can also see the nice corn field on the edge of the site. The corn is really getting tall.

Ferrets and their toys

2011-07-19T13:34:00.002-04:00

The ferrets like to "help" Brian read by tunneling through the pages.

This is a frequent sight when I look under my desk.

In the past, the ferrets have enjoyed tunneling through shredded paper. So we filled this soft cooler with paper about a week ago. They do like to search through the paper (especially when there are treats hidden in it), but Rex also likes to nap in it.

This play mat is a recent acquisition. It has a tunnel through the middle that the ferrets can access from two "O"s.

A couple days ago, we couldn't find Eve when we were putting the ferrets back in their cage. After looking in all the normal places, Brian came across her on the book shelf, tucked behind some large law texts.

4th of July parade

2011-07-09T01:24:00.004-04:00

In Brian's parents' neighborhood, there is a small parade to celebrate Independence Day. Brian used to participate when he was a little kid. This year, we went to watch the show. The parade starts with a firetruck. Then kids decorate their bikes and ride behind the firetruck. This year, the parade was wrapped up with a couple classic cars. Perhaps one of them looks familiar to you?

Summer ferrets

2011-07-09T01:13:00.002-04:00

The ferrets have been having some fun playtimes lately. We've been trying to use some new toys, like a water playground in the bathroom and some bubble wrap. We also occasionally take them outside, although we can't go out for too long because it is warm.

Making Videos

2011-07-09T01:02:00.002-04:00

Brian has been improving his video editing skills by working on several projects. While he has been taping the performers, I have taken a few shots of him. It has been interesting to get out and see some local music acts.

Oldies good time band, 4th of July celebration:

Waterfall/nature stock footage:

(sound recording)

At the Jazz festival:

Just a few ferret pics

2011-06-18T13:57:00.001-04:00

visitors from the north

2011-06-16T23:16:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, my parents came to visit us for the weekend. Together, we drove to Cincinnati to see Peter, Anne, and Ginger. It was really great to see everyone and to see Peter and Anne's house in Cincinnati.

Mom and I, and Brian and Dad, also played tennis one of the days they were here.

Steve Gey

2011-06-10T08:06:00.002-04:00

Last night I dreamt that I was back at FSU with many friends, though I didn't know why I was there in the dream. My bags were full of ashes. I awoke this morning to rain and thunder, and a text message that Steve Gey passed away in the early AM.

This is a strange world. Rest in peace, Steve, you've long since earned it.

Graduation Season

2011-05-29T01:08:00.004-04:00

It's springtime here, which is high school graduation season. This year, both Brian and I have cousins who are graduating. We are too far away to celebrate with my cousin in Florida. Lucky for us, Brian's cousin lives in Columbus, so we were able to attend a graduation party in his honor this evening.

Beautiful photo display and cake, in honor of the graduate:

Brian with his mom, after eating some delicious food:

Brian's dad, catching up with an old friend:
The graduate (red tie) entertained us all with several songs. He usually plays drums, but it was a lot easier to get a clear photo when he played guitar for one song!

Spring Ferrets

2011-05-26T19:06:00.003-04:00

I realize that I haven't posted in a while. Our lives haven't been very picturesque lately. I went to Florida and had my defense, but I didn't take many pictures. Still, I thought it would be nice to update the blog. So here are some pictures of the ferrets from the last month or so.

Rex enjoying a blanket:

Rex, fully asleep:

Chewbacca, sleeping in the cage:

Chewbacca and Brian, hanging out together:

Chebacca and Eve, playing and hopping:

Chews and Eve, actively hopping:

Chews finally caught her:

Tulips!

2011-04-29T14:33:00.006-04:00

When I was in the Netherlands, I visited the tulip gardens with several relatives. I took (too?) many pictures--here is a selection of those pictures. Enjoy!

Visiting

2011-04-29T14:26:00.002-04:00

I was recently in the Netherlands for a few days, and I had a chance to visit several family members. Here are a few pictures from my visit.

My mom's sisters:

Me and Hans (cousin-in-law):

Aunt, her granddaughter, Aunt, and Uncle:

Proud Oma:

In the Field

2011-04-23T10:44:00.003-04:00

Remote sensing (looking for ancient structures using magnetometry):

Coring (to see the soil changes and find walls and floors without excavation) - pushing the corer down into the soil:

Once the corer is removed, here is the result:

The start of the excavation, removing the plowzone:

The surface collection team, recording the artifacts found in each block:

One of the skeletons we found:

Screening soil from the excavation:

Sunday in Ohio

2011-03-20T22:01:00.004-04:00

It is a quiet Sunday night here as Hanneke is half-way around the world and the ferrets are tucked into their hammock. I've just come back from an afternoon with my parents at the Columbus Auto Show, which was enjoyable. After taking care of some chores around the house I ventured over to TeamGey.org to post as I do each week. I wasn't really sure what I was going to write until I was writing it.

This week I'll start my orientation for adjunct teaching. I have a few questions left to answer (with assistance from more veteran professors), and I have to finalize my syllabuses (I originally thought it was pluralized as "syllabi" but perhaps not). But I am otherwise excited to begin the classes at the end of the month.

The Tri for Gey 5 is right around the corner which means there are only a few more weeks to fund-raise in its name. I am hopeful that the site will attract a few more donors than it has so far; the ALS research pot that I set up this year at ALS TDI only has a few dollars in it and I'd like to see that number go up. But even if it doesn't, I can see from tracking the site that it's had about a hundred visitors. If all that the video and site accomplish is raising awareness about ALS by a hundred people I would still count that as something of a success. But I have a few more fundraising pushes in me, so perhaps we'll see the number rise yet.

In other news, things feel pretty different around the place without Han. It's very quiet, most of all, and I think the ferrets have gone looking for her once or twice. Such is the life of Mr. Croft, I suppose. Yes, that was somewhat obscure for the non-gaming crowd, but still - if I had said Mr. Indiana Jones it wouldn't have made any sense!

Video!

2011-03-05T18:02:00.002-05:00

So the video I posted about last time is complete. You can see it at the promotional website Brian has been designing (http://teamgey.org). Promotion for the website was supposed to start last week, but some recent changes have required adjustments in the text, and suggestions from a graphic designer friend promped some design changes as well. The website is live, and all the links are working. Hopefully after this weekend, we can start to spread the video to as many people as possible. We will let you know when all the website is in its final form. Until then, feel free to check it out. Brian and I both play charecters (Brian has 2 roles)--see if you can find us. :)

Fundraising Video (coming soon)

2011-02-21T15:55:00.000-05:00

Brian has been working on a website to raise money for ALS research, and as part of this website, he decided to make a video. The idea was pretty simple, but the actual work involved in making the video was intense. I don't want to give away the entire plot of the video (which will be available for viewing soon), but at one point, a giant dinosaur terrorizes the streets of Columbus and is wrestled to the ground by the video's hero figure. Taping this part of the video involved a giant green screen in the living room, and since the dinosaur was also green, we also needed a blue screen. Brian ended up playing the dinosaur (and one other role - see if you can find him in the video). Here are some pictures of the taping of the dinosaur fight scene, staring Brian and the video's hero figure. We will get the complete video viewing info out soon.

Brian preping the shot:

Brian shooting the dino scene with the green screen:

The hero was filmed seperately, and the two figures were combined digitally:

Brian checking the camera before shooting:

We rented the dino costume from a pretty awesome costume shop. Here is a close up of the head (along with many of the other charecter heads they had):

Ice storm

2011-02-18T23:38:00.001-05:00

This week, we have been enjoying lovely weather - really, just ideal. It has been sunny, I have been going out without a coat, and we spent all day Wednesday with all the windows open.

I am afraid the current weather is only a short break from the winter though. A couple weeks ago, we had a huge ice storm in this area. It was quite spectacular to look at, and I managed to get a couple photos of the ice (despite it being night). Here are a few pictures from that time (which seems oh so distant now).

Icicles on the porch railing:

The tree in the foreground usually blocks our view a bit (which is okay b/c it stops people from looking in our windows too). Here it is weighed down so much with ice that it is resting entirely on the ground. We were worried that all the branches would snap off, but by the next afternoon, a lot of the ice had fallen off and the tree had sprung back up.

View out the wondow of everything coated in ice. All the cars had a thick coating, but the ice peeled off in sheets once the inside was warmed up (of course, you needed to work to get the doors open).

More icicles:

It was pretty trecherous walking around for a while, since the ice was so thick that your feet didn't crunch through it when you walked. Now all this ice and snow is long gone, and it is sunny and green. I am ready for spring.

Brussels

2011-02-04T03:03:00.005-05:00

Brussels died at 2:30am at home. Sometime around 10pm he became unresponsive and our attempts to bring him out of this state were not successful. For 4 and a half hours we gave him doses of karo syrup and liquid dextrose but he never came back around fully. At 2:30, lying in a tshirt on my chest, his breathing gradually slowed until he took a final breath. I don't think he was in pain. I hope he wasn't.

Brussels was the first ferret to live with me for over 5 years. He would have turned 6 next month. He was an attentive friend and a playful brother to Rex, Eve, and Chewbacca, and to Tang and Bear in years passed. He was smart and quirky and he fought hard to the end. Looking at his things around the house it is clear the void he has left behind. We will miss him deeply.

Rest in peace, Brussels.

Brussels

2011-01-30T16:34:00.002-05:00

These pictures are from the middle of last week. Brian and I were working hard writing, and Brian let the ferrets add comments to a document while he took a short break. All the ferrets seemed to be doing okay. It was a really nice day.

Since then, Brussels has not been feeling well. His blood sugar dropped to dangerous levels (the vets weren't sure why he wasn't having seizures) and he has become very low energy and, at times, unresponsive. He is at the vet hospital today, and he was pretty out of it when we visited earlier this afternoon. We are in a bit of shock that his condition deteriorated so quickly. Please keep Brussels in your thoughts and prayers.

Ginger

2011-01-14T01:42:00.003-05:00

Things around our house have been a little quieter the last couple days, since Ginger went back to her own house on Thursday night. She was a very well-behaved guest, and we really enjoyed having her. Here are a few pictures from the last week.

Ginger working on her new chew bone:

Ginger with some of her toys:

Pausing to look at me:

Hanging out on the couch in the evening (Ginger loves belly rubbing):

Brian and Ginger on the couch, both sleepy:

Smoothies

2011-01-14T01:38:00.004-05:00

Since we arrived home, Brian and I have been enjoying fruit smoothies on almost a daily basis, putting my new hand-held blender to good use. The blender came with a handy mixing cup, which is large enough to make two small smoothies at the same time. I start with some frozen fruit (strawberries, sometimes with pineapple or mango or peach). Recently, I started adding some frozen cranberries, which adds a really nice flavor. Then I add a banana (always) and sometimes some pineapple tidbits (if I have some in the fridge). Finally, I add some yogurt and liquid (either milk or fruit juice). We have experimented with the flavor a little bit (different fruits, different yogurt flavors), and so far, we haven't found a bad combination.

Before: frozen strawberries, frozen cranberries, banana, pineapple, yogurt, pineapple juice, orange juice:

After: everything blended together into a delicious smoothie

Early January

2011-01-11T06:47:00.002-05:00

A little more than a week ago, this new year started. It seems like it has been a lot longer than a week though. Since that time, we are getting back into a routine of work. Things are really starting to pick up with my dissertation progress, and I am feeling some stress from it. The past several days, I have been working nights. I don't think it is the most healthy schedule, but when I get stressed, I often feel like I can focus more at night, when the whole world is asleep. Brian has been keeping my company a lot of the time, since he says it is hard for him to sleep when I am awake working. Anyway, I just sent off a large amount of work to my advisor for review this morning, and I hope to get back into a normal sleep schedule in the next day or so. We didn't sleep last night, but we hope to stay up all day today so we can sleep tonight (and probably go to bed early).

Here is a picture of the beautiful morning sky a couple days ago, right before I went to bed (after working all night):

Right now, we have a special guest at our house named Ginger. She seems to be doing okay here--the first night was a bit rough and I don't think she knows what is going on, and if her owners will be returning. They will be back on Thursday evening, so I am sure she will be a happy lady then.

Ginger likes to wrestle. She definitely has a puppy's energy.

Ginger can be quite attentive. Here Brian is asking her to give him a high five (she did).

Here Ginger is showing Brian that she knows how to shake hands.

A few more shots

2011-01-03T20:05:00.004-05:00

Here are a few more shots from out trip to Michigan last week.

Dad with powdered sugar:

Mom and me making olliebollen:

Ginger, showing me her sit:

Brian and me working on some Scrabble words:

Brian and me playing Dominion:

Simon, modeling Oma's new scarf:

Brian watching Beauty and the Beast with the boys. Josiah seemed to like the film, but Eli was easily frustrated by the mushy parts (or as he called them, the parts about marriage and kissing).

Present Time

2011-01-03T19:51:00.003-05:00

This year, many of us had help unwrapping things from three eager boys. They seemed to have a great time though, and they were calmer than in previous years. We also had a new addition to present time: Ginger. Ginger also remained quite calm through all the hustle and bustle, which was very impressive to me. Unexpectedly, Peter was able to stop by for several hours on Monday before he had to head back to Ohio for work. It was great to see everyone!

Uncle Peter gets assistance from Joes, Eli, and Simon, while Anne and Ginger look on.

Uncle Brian also got some help from the boys unwrapping these running aides for snowy weather.

Uncle Brian with a acrobat toy, symbolizing time at the gym.

Whatever Joes just got, he sure is happy about it!

Anne and Dad smile big for the camera.

Reading

2011-01-03T19:31:00.003-05:00

During our Michigan trip, I did some reading for fun (which has become a rare activity, sad to say). A lot of the reading I did was children's literature, but the books were all new to me, so that was still nice. There was one book that I was just getting started by the time we left. It was about HeLa, a lady who unwittingly "donated" some of her cancer cells and ended up getting those cells duplicated over and over, long past when the donor herself was alive. Mom, can you remind me of the title and author of that book so I can track it down here? It was from the library.

This book about people from different parts of the world kept Eli's attention, but Joes was distracted. No big deal.

Oma has the full attention of Eli and Joes.

David is a pro- he can get all three boys to listen. (Although, they all look pretty tired, so that might help.)

This was their favorite part of this Winnie the Pooh book. Can you tell what the picture shows? It is pretty funny.

Knuffle-bunny!

See other blog

2011-01-02T17:01:00.002-05:00

I have not been feeling inspired to post pictures lately, since David has been posting a lot of the pictures I took over on his and Rachel's blog. So if you are interested in pics, please use the link to the left to navigate over there and check it out.

Seriously though, I will try to get some new ones up in the next couple days. :)

A few outside shots

2010-12-28T22:29:00.002-05:00

We are spending some time in Holland this week. We have gone out into the snow a couple times. My parents got some snowshoes recently, and Brian and I tried them out. They took a little getting used to, but they were a lot of fun. My mom also got some gaters, which are apparently used to keep your legs dry when you go snowshoeing in deep snow. I had never heard of them before, but David was more familiar.

Dad and Mom, showing off the gaters:

Brian and I took the snowshoes all the way to the lake, which was very beautiful. We got there at dusk, so we had to hurry back to make it to the car before it got too dark.
Brian at Lake Michigan:

Han at Lake Michigan:

Dad on skis (left) and Brian on snowshoes (right):

More visit and mini-Christmas

2010-12-19T23:28:00.003-05:00

Dave and Amy have headed back to South Carolina now. We really enjoyed spending time with them over the last week. Here are a few more pictures from their visit.

We played a couple different games together:

We met with Tammy and Jim for lunch:

We had a mini-Christmas, giving some gifts to each other, on Saturday afternoon.

Karen with 2010 ornament:

Rick with specialty foods:

Dave and Amy with matching mugs:

Karen and Brian:

Brian, hiding from the camera:

Wildlights

2010-12-18T02:50:00.002-05:00

The Columbus Zoo has a special program every December called Wildlights. They cover the zoo with (energy-efficient LED) Christmas lights and extend the zoo hours into the evening to allow people to enjoy the light displays. The lights always look fantastic, but it is always chilly. We went to Wildlights this evening, and it was frigid. To make the temperatures more bareable, the zoo sells hot chocolate and has several of the indoor displays open, so you can sip a hot drink and/or got inside a building to thaw out a bit.

First, some of the beautiful light displays:
See the hippo?

Moose!

The polar bears were outside, but there is a nice display indoors about polar bears and global warming/climate change. We warmed up in this building, and took a few silly pictures too.

Making a friend?

Dave & Amy pet the bear; Brian and I observe but do not offer our hands to the wild animals.

Another popular indoor display is the manatee tank. Today I saw 2 manatees. The smaller one had some boat motor damage on its side. The stuff floating on the top of the water is lettuce.

Dave & Amy:

Rick, Dave, and Brian, posing in the manatee building:

Han with a tall toy soldier:

Dave & Amy visit

2010-12-18T02:39:00.002-05:00

This week, Dave and Amy have been visiting from South Carolina. It has been great! We started the visit by having some Christmas cake. (Okay, so the visit was really just a good excuse to make a cake, but I did color the cake to make it more Christmasy.) I wanted to try out a new chocolate frosting recipe, which is delicious.

We met Grandma Sites and cousin Amy for lunch on Thursday at Der Dutchmann (an Amish family-style restaurant). L to R: Han, Rick, Gma, Karen, Brian, Amy, Dave

Here is a pic with only Grandma, Dave, and Amy.

Amy and Dave stopped by our place briefly to meet the ferrets. Chewbacca especially liked Amy.

So far, the visit has been a fun one. We are all happy Dave and Amy could get some time off to come see us.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-12T21:00:00.002-05:00

Today we had our first real snow. It looks lovely. In the past couple weeks, we've decorated the house for Christmas. The lights on our tree make crazy patterns on the floor and walls. We put the tree in the living room by the large window, with the other plants.
Sinterklaas ornament:

Rain last night transitioned into snow, which led to some decent-sized icicles.

Brian brushing snow off the car:

Our outside lights, covered in snow:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T00:47:00.000-05:00

Woods Hole trip

2010-11-26T00:15:00.004-05:00

Last week, I drove to Woods Hole, MA, to work on my dissertation samples. I got a lot done, and it was a beautiful area to visit, so overall I'd rank the trip a success. Here are a few pictures from the week.

Visiting some college friends in Boston:

Woods Hole (on Cape Cod) is a truly beautiful area. Unfortunately, since it is about as far east as you can go, the sun set super early. This is at 4pm. The sun is just setting behind me.

Here is the door of the lab I worked in. I thought this was a kind of pretty, artistic shot. I was the first person who arrived on Friday morning, so I spent a short time wandering outside and enjoying the scenery.

This is the view from the lab. You see that water out there? Yeah, that's the ocean. I felt like this view was totally wasted on several of the people working in this lab, who didn't care where they were. Of course, there were some who enjoyed it too.

I spent many many hours setting up and running samples through silica gel to seperate out impurities. Here I am about to add the first silica gel with my left hand and manning the solvent with my right hand.

The rest of these are from the little bit of sightseeing I did in Woods Hole and the surrounding areas. The first three are from a small natural harbor close to where I was staying. These pictures were taken around 7:30 am (the sun had been up for several hours). I found several of the boats interesting & the whole area beautiful in the bright morning light.

This is the Gaines house, where I was staying. Jennifer was an incredibly gracious hostess, especially considering that we did not know each other at all before I arrived. (This is the house one of David's labmates grew up in.) The "road" this house was located on was really just a very narrow dirt path. Luckily, my GPS was up to the task!

Here is the lighthouse at Woods Hole. I came across it while exploring my first day. It was about 5 pm by this time, so my camera was having a hard time in the dim light. It did make the light more visible though. While standing next to the lighthouse, I watched a large cruiseliner and a coastguard helicopter go by.

Battle of the Marching Bands

2010-11-09T22:54:00.002-05:00

Recently, we went to watch Brian's cousin marching in a band competition. It was a chilly fall evening, but it was pretty interesting to see the bands playing and marching around the field in various formations.

I think Evan is the second from the right in this picture.

Back row: Tammy, Gma, Jim

Front row: Brian, Vicki, Rick

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:41:00.003-04:00

Preparing to hand out candy:
Eating dinner is a little tricky with so much paint:

Our pumpkins (Brian carved the ghoul, I carved the stack of jack-o-lanterns):

The carving process:

Earlier this month at the Pumpkin Show in Circleville (this is where I got the pumpkins we carved):

Happy Birthday Brian

2010-10-17T23:04:00.002-04:00

Hello readers. This weekend, we celebrated Brian's birthday. It was nice to relax and take a little break from writing for both of us. On Saturday, we went out for dinner with Brian's parents. Then we sang and had cake (see pics). Today we went to hear Brian's cousin's band and hung up Halloween decorations.

Brian is in this picture twice. Can you spot him?

Homecoming

2010-10-09T21:43:00.002-04:00

Today (Saturday) was Wooster's homecoming, so Brian and I drove over to spend some time on campus this afternoon. We saw some people we hadn't seen in a while and walked around notinig the things that had changed since we were students. We also loitered by some doors so we could get into a few buildings and reminisce. (I really have no idea how to spell reminisce. Is that right?)

There was a small parade for the alums, featuring the Wooster marching band.

The band also put on a concert, which was great. They played all the old favorites you would hear at a football game. While traditional at homecoming events, there wasn't actually a football game on campus today. There were other sports to watch (cricket, soccer, lacrosse), but we weren't really interested.

Highland dancers with pipers behind:

Bagpipers playing a song:

The band:

Dam Visit

2010-10-02T19:46:00.003-04:00

On Friday, Karen and I went to the Hoover Dam, which is on the east side of Columbus, for a walk. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed looking out at the water and walking over the dam. Here are a few pictures from that day:

After the water goes through the dam, it forms this little river.

Here is the water rushing out of the dam:

This is the other side of the dam, with the reservoir:

Like I said, it was a really nice day. This would be a really pretty spot to visit again once the trees get some fall color.

We saw this odd little thing on the water and were curious about what its purpose is. There is a logo on the side, but I couldn't make it out. It seemed too small for a boat, but too elaborate for a bouy. Brian thinkes that the black panel is a solar panel and that this device might be used to monitor water quality. Any other guesses? And does anyone recognize that round blue logo?

Unexpected ER Visit

2010-09-22T12:42:00.003-04:00

Thanks to those who expressed concern last night. The ER doctor didn't know what caused the neck injury but it seems to have just come out of nowhere. The CAT scan didn't reveal anything in particular. I'm on a handful of medications for pain and to treat the injury. I'll see someone as soon as I can to try and get it sorted out. Although the pain medication keeps most of the pain down it still hurts a lot when I swallow. I'm going to try and keep the computer usage down in case the viewing angle or something contributed (I was using the computer when it happened after all).

I guess that health insurance turned out to be worth it immediately.

Soccer skills

2010-09-19T15:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, we played at the playground of a local school. We spent a lot of time working on soccer skills, mainly shooting at the goal.

Josiah & Greta shooting at the goal, which Eli and I are defending (David & Brian looking on):

Eli and I defended the goal with spirit, but sometimes one got through.

Brian also took a turn helping Eli with defense.

Eli was the one most interested in soccer. Josiah eventually lost interest and went to play on the play structures with Greta. David was enjoying tossing a frisbee around. Uncle Brian stuck with Eli for a little one-on-one.

New house

2010-09-18T16:52:00.005-04:00

Here is a tour of our new place! We have unpacked a lot of things, but not all. Still, it looks pretty nice I think.

When you enter the house, this is the view. This longish hallway has all the rooms branching off from it. On the left from front to back, you have the living room, bedroom, and ferret room. On the right, you have the dining room, kitchen, and main bathroom.

We will start with the living room. The glass door on the left leads to the little porch. The walls are still bare, but I hope we get pictures up soon.

Another view of the living room:

Next to the living room is the dining room and kitchen. There is a small stack of boxes in the dining room still that we are working on. The dining room has a great overhead lamp that makes it nice and bright.

Another view of the dining room: (The kitchen is right next to it, but there was already a post about that room.)

The bedroom is down the hall on the left. We have it mostly set up. There isn't a whole lot in there, just the bed and clothes mainly. That is all that is really needed in a bedroom anyway.
The awesome clothes shelves I built:

Across the hall from the bedroom is the main bathroom. The door on the left is a closet with the furnace etc. The door on the right is a storage closet. The orange curtain on the left of the room is the shower curtain.

Another view of the main bathroom:

Behind the bedroom is a larger room that we use as an office/ferret room. We spend a lot of time in this room, working and playing. We have a large desk set up to work at with all the computer cords elevated to keep the ferrets out of them. We also keep a lot of books in this room.

Another view of the ferret room: You can also see the short hallway which leads to the second bathroom. That hallway has a couple closets on either side.

Here is the second bathroom. This bathroom has the washer and dryer, which are really helpful to have in the house.

At the park

2010-09-18T16:20:00.004-04:00

Last night after dinner, we went to a nearby park to run around and get all tired before bedtime. We went to the park in Brian's old neighborhood. The park had a great big field for running and a playground with swings and things to climb on. Brian's parents joined us at the park and brought some frisbees and a ball, which was great.

Simon and David on a teeter-table (I had never seen these before):

Brian and Josiah racing across the field:

Karen and Rachel watching Eli:

Brian playing with Simon and Josiah on the swings:

Simon & Josiah (Joes just got an underdog from Brian):

Visitors at our place

2010-09-18T16:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday David and Rachel arrived with their kids for a nice visit. They drove over 6 hours to see us, which was really nice. It was great to see everyone. It also gave us a good reason to work at unpacking, so the house a lot more organized now (although there are a few piles of boxes still).

David and Rachel helping me in the kitchen:

Brian, Rachel, & David, playing Smallworld:

David and me, still playing Smallworld. Rachel schooled us all. :)

Josiah, posing with the ferrets. We had a couple action-packed playtimes with three little boys and four little ferrets.

Joes, Simon, and Eli, posing by the car:

Hoekman rock sensation visits Columbus

2010-09-17T18:13:00.005-04:00

D&R are here visiting now and by accident the kids found my Rockband stuff in a box. That meant the guitars were coming out and some playing by the trio ensued. Here are a few samplings for you to enjoy; their CD will release next Fall.

Kitchen

2010-09-11T20:55:00.002-04:00

The kitchen is probably the room that is the most set up, so I thought I'd post a couple pictures of it. It is roughly square, and it has one doorway next to the dishwasher that leads to the dining room and one doorway next to the fridge that leads to the living room. There is also a large cut-out window-like space next to the living room doorway to make it feel more open and allow in light from the balcony doors. It is quite a comfortable kitchen and I have enjoyed getting it all set up. It is a great space for cooking. The stove is a glasstop (electric), which I have never had before, but I am getting used to it. Generally, I try to keep the counters clear so I can work on them, but I did put the spices in the corner space next to the stove.

There is also a smallish countertop/bar/dining area, which is not in the pictures, since it has mess on it (mail, a couple boxes, etc). You can just see the corner of it in the right side of the picture below.

I don't know if you noticed, but this raspberry pie was in both of the general kitchen shots. I made it today and we have already eaten half.

The New Place

2010-09-09T19:53:00.002-04:00

Well, the inside's still a mess, but I thought I'd put up a few pictures of the outside. Here is the main entry door that we use. Each apartment has a little balcony. Our balcony is the one on the middle left (with the 2 teal and white folding chairs). Our apartment is surrounded by other units, as we are in the middle floor (technically the second floor, although it is more like a half floor up).

This picture shows our actual apartment a bit better, along with the nice trees we have. The door from the top picture is at the very right. Our apartment includes the balcony glass doors, along with the two windows to the left of the balcony. You can see that the first window is mostly blocked by foliage, which is great for privacy. We have been opening our windows in the evening the past several days and enjoying the fall breezes.

Inside the main door is a common hallway space. Here you can see the few steps we had to contend with when moving. The mailboxes are right where I am standing, and our door is in the center of the picture. So far, we have found the building to be very nice. More pictures will follow shortly as we get things sorted inside.

Labor Day

2010-09-07T15:10:00.002-04:00

This weekend, we went to visit Brian's grandpa near Franklin Furnace, Ohio. We really enjoyed spending time with Grandpa, Virginia, Brian's parents, and his cousin Aaron and family. We went to Portsmouth and saw the murals that were painted on the flood wall there. We also went to the local flea market. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

In Portsmouth:

The murals in Portsmouth:

At Grandpa's house:

We're Back

2010-09-02T20:16:00.002-04:00

We have arrived! I don't have any pictures to post yet (the camera is still packed . . . somewhere), but I thought some of you would like to hear that we arrived safely and have all our stuff in the new house. It is a lovely little apartment/condo with a living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. That is the highest number of bathrooms we have ever had. There are also several closets, which is great for keeping clutter tucked away. We even have a closet right by the front door for coats, shoes, and mittens. Also, there is a small deck/balcony off the living room. So far, we have the bed set up, the ferrets back in their normal large cage, the computers hooked up, the dining room table in place, and a lot of the kitchen unpacked.

Ferrets and another update

2010-08-21T23:39:00.003-04:00

The last time I talked to Eli, he asked me how the ferrets were doing. So I thought I'd post a few pictures of them for him. Overall, I think the ferrets are doing okay, although they are all getting old and will need a vet check-up once we move.

In other news, our new apartment isn't quite ready yet, so we've pushed our moving date back to the end of the month. This is a little akward, since many things we use fairly regularly are already packed up, but it is otherwise not a huge change. We do have a moving truck reserved and several other moving details arranged. My job with the census officially ended today. This last week has been quite busy at work, so it is kind of a relief to be finished. There are some things about it that I will miss though. It felt good to be working at a job and getting paid, not so much for the money itself but because it was an outside acknowledgement of a job well done. But it was by definition a temporary job, so it wasn't an unexpected end.

August recap

2010-08-17T01:11:00.003-04:00

Sorry we have been such infrequent posters here the past couple weeks. Brian and I have been preparing for our upcoming move. We will be heading for Columbus, Ohio very soon. We have a place to move all picked out and my job with the census is almost finished. Many boxes have already been packed, and there have been a lot of potential renters coming through our apartment recently.

Since it has been a while, here are a few of the things we have been up to:

My friend Amanda came to NYC with her husband and a couple friends. We met up in Central Park. It was really great to see her again (it has been a while). You can see more pics on facebook or at her blog (see the sidebar).

My birthday was earlier this month, and Brian got me this delicious icecream cake. It was really rich so it took a while for us to eat it, but we enjoyed every slice.

We also went to Philadelphia to have dinner with some friends. Kimberly (second to the left) was visiting from Canada, which was a good excuse to get together for some food and conversation.

Me and Brian at the same dinner:

My friend Smiti visited NYC last week, so we took a trip on the Staten Island ferry together. It was a really humid day, so it was great to get out on the bay and catch the breeze. I know it is hard to tell, but the tiny tower behind us is the statue of liberty.

Another shot from the ferry trip:

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

2010-08-02T00:48:00.006-04:00

On the Wednesday of my parents' visit, we spent most of the day visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. They were both very interesting to see, but the lines and airport-style security was a little intense. The lines to get on the ferries reminded me of Disney.

The entryway to the initial ferry was preceeded by a security check. This took place in an old train station, which was used by those arriving from Ellis Island to disperse all over the US. There was a small concession area, but it was mostly empty.
Here is the train station's exterior. It is actually a very nice station and famous for its part in history, but we were eager to get to the ferry and see the larger sights (at least, I was).

Here we are waiting in line. I think I am the only one looking at the camera, but we don't have any other pics of us in line, so this is the one I'm posting. :) The hats were a good plan because it was quite sunny.

Yay! Now we are on the ferry! We look so hot because we had been standing out in the sun for a while, waiting our turn. It was great to get out of the sun and onto the boat.

On Ellis Island, there were many really interesting displays. This one shows English words borrowed from other languages as well as the word source. It highlights the diversity of American culture and the benefits we have received from being a nation of immigrants.

Another cool Ellis Island display:

Here is the great hall at Ellis Island where incoming immigrants would line up to be checked in. We learned a lot about this process from some of the displays.

Here we are back in line! After we saw the Ellis Island hall, it was time to head for the statue. For this, we needed to once again wait in line for the ferry. Mom, it looks like you needed a hat. The building behind us is the hospital where sick immigrants would be kept (and would either recover and be allowed in or not recover and be shipped back). The hospital is not part of the tour.

On the ferry, there were lots of great views, and Dad and I took lots of pictures. Here is one great sailboat heading south. Lower Manhattan is to the left and Brooklyn is over the bridges to the right.

The Statue of Liberty was quite impressive, but I didn't know that so much of it's height is due to the platform it is on and not the statue itself. Still, it was pretty exciting going past the front on the ferry as we approached.

We had tickets that allowed us to climb to the balcony right below where the actual statue starts (platform tickets). It was a bit of a climb, but not too bad. The views were great from up there (including the statue shadow), but the area was very small and crowded.

Brian took this picture of me on the balcony. It was difficult to get enough distance between us (small space), so I am trying to lean backwards. In the background, Jersey City is to the left and Manhattan is to the right.

Statue of Liberty interior structure:

I have dozens of pictures of this statue (Brian suggests that I was a little excessive in my picture-taking). I enjoyed taking pictures of it though, and the clouds were so great. The sky was always changing! This shot is from on the island.

From the Statue of Liberty island, we had a pretty good view of the areas surrounding the bay. In this picture you can see Ellis Island (buildings with red roofs on the left) with Jersey City in the background. On the right, Lower Manhattan is in the foreground and areas of Manhattan further north can be seen behind the ferries as the Hudson River curves gently to the left.

Brian with Manhattan (cute haircut):

Me with Staten Island and then the opean ocean (the wind was picking up, so I had to watch my hat):

Here is one last shot of Ellis Island and Jersey City (with a sea bird).

Lower Manhattan

2010-08-02T00:24:00.002-04:00

When my parents were here visiting, we spent one sunny afternoon walking around Lower Manhattan (downtown, if you are taking the subway). We took a ferry to the eastern edge (by the South Street Seaport) and walked west to the World Trade Center site. We passed through the main financial center for NYC on this walk.

Me and my mom, wandering down Wall Street:
The seaport pier on the eastern side of Manhattan:

Mom and Dad in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. Dad was keen on seeing the bridge, so we went to this upper level balcony outside the pier shopping center to take a good look.

Me and Dad with the Brooklyn Bridge:

The streets seem narrower when the buildings are so tall. Here is a typical downtown street (although this one is closed off to traffic). Trinity Church is the small building in the center of the picture. Trinity Church was established in Manhattan very early on (long before the USA became a nation).

Here are my parents checking out the local architecture. They seemed especially interested in examining buildings in the art decco style. The building in the background is the famous Tiffanys.

Same building shot upwards so you can see the whole building.

This is the place where George Washington was sworn in as president.

Here are my parents in front of the Federal Reserve. I took it because they are standing directly underneath a "No Standing Anytime" sign. Ha!

World Trade Center site

2010-07-25T23:34:00.002-04:00

The WTC is still a huge hole in the middle of lower Manhattan. The PATH and subway station underneath it is functional, but the building/memorial that is being built at the site is still not really taking shape. Still, we wanted to visit the area. We ended up at St. Paul's chapel, which is one block directly east of the WTC site. It was used in the months after the disaster as a place for rest and food for all the volunteers working to save survivors and later clear debris. It is also quite a historic chapel, frequently visited by George Washington.
The front of the chapel:

Here is the chapel interior. It is still a major WTC memorial site. They maintain many displays about the 9-11 aftermath.

Responders came from all across the country to help out. This display shows the badges of some of the volunteers.

The chapel's interior:

Just across the street is the giant hole where the twin towers used to be.

The churchyard was filled with graves and mature trees, which offered shade from the brutal sun. The blue signs you can see through the fence block the public's view of the WTC site construction.

Brian and me in front of the WTC PATH station.

Grant's Tomb

2010-07-25T23:24:00.002-04:00

Since is is located right next to Riverside church, we stopped in to Grant's Tomb, which is a National Parks Service site. Although a tomb for a war general, the quote above the door reads "Let us have peace."
Here is Dad's more artistic picture of the building. I like it a lot.

The inside of this building is quite beautiful as well.

In the middle in a lower chamber you can see the tombs of General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Grant.

There are also several informative displays about the Civil War battles and life during the Civil War. I think the NPS has done a pretty good job with the site.

Downtown Jersey City

2010-07-25T22:48:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday, my parents and I spent a little time in downtown Jersey City. I had to attend a short meeting for work there and I wanted to show them our downtown, so we went on Tuesday morning. Jersey City is a great place to view the NYC skyline. The first time I went, I was surprised how close NYC really is to Jersey. Jersey City is across from lower Manhattan, so it is an impressive view. There are several ferries that go from JC downtown to various points in lower Manhattan. We ended up taking one of these ferries to Pier 11 in NYC after lunch.

My parents waiting for the ferry in JC with NYC in the background:
We started off at Exchange Place, which is a major transportation hub downtown. We took the PATH train, but the light rail, buses, and ferries also have stations at Exchange Place. There is also a very nice public pier with benches and shaded areas. It is a popular lunch spot for downtown workers. Here is one of the many ferries we saw while taking in the view:

A view of lower Manhattan (north is to the left). The white tent at the water's edge to the left of the picture is the ferry station Brian and I were standing at when we took the pictures of downtown Jersey City that we posted last week.

We saw some sea birds (since we are quite close to the sea), including this fellow. He ignored us and seemed to be searching the river water for fish.

We found a few signs with historical information about the coast long ago. Look--windmills!

This picture, taken from the pier again, shows the tallest building in New Jersey. The ferry station is in front of that building.

Mom and I looking at NYC from the pier at Jersey City:

It was a nice place to relax.

There was a 9-11 memorial at the river's edge, showing the skyline (as it appears from Jersey City) with the twin towers. It was interesting to look at the depiction with the towers and then look at the reality to see where they used to be. It was difficult to get a clear picture of both the memorial and the skyline, but you can see the skyline shot (above the sea bird) for comparison.

Also part of this memorial was this twisted metal beam from the WTC site. It was covered with memorial letters, pictures, ribbons, flowers, and flags.

Monday - churches

2010-07-22T20:45:00.007-04:00

We also visited a couple churches on Monday that are close to Columbia: St. John the Divine and Riverside Church. St. John is a couple blocks south of the law school. This church has an organ demonstration on Mondays at 1:00 pm, so we went there first. The church is part of a larger complex (most of which we did not see), including a school and a garden. This interesting statue was open for viewing at the edge of the garden area:

Here is the front of St. John church:

It is hard to get a good picture of the entire church front (or really any large building in the city) because you can't back up far enough. There are other buildings and trees that get in the way. Here is my attempt:

The interior of the church was built in two stages. The rear (shown here-from the large arches back) was built after the front. They two parts are built in different styles, which is a little odd. I like the rear section a little better, but a large part of that was probably the purple hue caused by the sun+stained glass windows.

Here is a close-up of the rose window. I like this type of window- they are always so pretty.

The organ demonstration was pretty interesting. The organist told us a little about the church building in general before playing a couple songs. The number of pipes was a bit extreme (I think he said 800 or so), but it sounded good. In this picture, the organ is about 2/3 of the way down poking up from the wooden choir loft.
This shot shows the front of the building. Along with the central alter area, there are several small chapels sticking out from the center area. The day we were there, a noon service was held in one of these chapels. We arrived shortly after the service ended.

Here is a close-up of some of the stonework decorating the front of the church. Along both sides of the choir area, there was a row of figures. My favorite was Ghandi (shown here looking into the camera).

This shot was taken from the inside of one of the smaller chapels looking out towards the central altar area. I like the overlapping pillars and arches.

Here is the interior of one of the smaller chapels:

The other church we visited on Monday was Riverside church. It is located on the other side of Columbia, between campus and the Hudson River. It was interesting, but the tower was closed, which was a little disappointing. Still, it was a large beautiful building.

Brian, Dad, and Mom, heading for the entrance:

Riverside's large tower:

There were plenty of lovely stained-glass windows here too:

This large golden Jesus was above the entrance at the back of the sanctuary:

Here is the picture of the sanctuary:

Here is a close-up of the front altar area. All the tall skinny statues remind me of those dribble sandcastles people make at the beach.

The exit:Here is a view of the church from the other side. I had to step out into the street to get it because of the nice trees blocking my view otherwise.

Columbia visit

2010-07-22T20:36:00.003-04:00

After lunch on Monday, we took my parents to see Columbia. We didn't walk around too long (it was a very hot day to be out in the sun), but we walked through the main campus area and around the law school.

Brian walking past the teacher's college (red brick) and theological seminary (grey):

Mom, Brian, and me heading away from the law school to main campus:

A very interesting statue located on the Amsterdam Ave overpass:

Walking towards Columbia after lunch:

Central Park, take 2

2010-07-22T20:21:00.002-04:00

My parents visited us for a few days this week. It was great to see them. We did some sightseeing in NY and NJ together on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Monday, we went to the northern part of Central Park around Harlem Meer (a small lake). The terrain was surprisingly rocky, and we climbed a good number of stairs. After we walked around Central Park a bit, we headed towards Columbia. Here are some pictures from the park:

JC skyline at night

2010-07-11T01:25:00.006-04:00

Brian and I don't go the the movies often because it is so insanely expensive. This past weekend, we went to our first movie of the year in theaters. We went to see Eclipse. We went to a theater in New York, since the theater in our town is known for being dirty and noisy. We ended up at the theater in Battery Park, which was a little bit difficult to get to because of the construction around Ground Zero. The theater itself was great, although a little weird. It was in a building with a hotel and several shops, and you needed to take several escalators up to get to the theater portion of the building. The theater itself though was clean and comfortable, and staff patrolled the theater during the movie so all was quiet.

After the show, we took a very short walk (about 1 block) to the edge of the Hudson River to look at Jersey City. Jersey City isn't nearly as big at NYC, but it is one of the largest in New Jersey (#3 I think), so it has a decent'sized downtown. Here are a couple pictures of our current hometown:

In the upper left of the top picture, you can see just the corner of the ferry building. There is a commuter ferry that runs from downtown Jersey City to downtown Manhattan that uses this building. Also in the top building, you can see a giant clock directly left of the tallest building (the Colgate Clock, from when the Colgate factory was in Jersey City). That is Jersey City telling Manhattan what time it is! (Brian was not amused by this, but I hope some of you are.) The building directly to the right of the clock is the tallest building in New Jersey (Goldman-Sachs Bldg).

Taking in a show

2010-07-11T01:08:00.002-04:00

For several months now, Brian and I have been planning to see a show in NYC. (This was actually a Christmas present for us from my parents. Thanks Mom & Dad!) I picked us a show to see and we finally decided on a day. That morning, I went to go buy us tickets. We used a system called TKTS, which sells tickets for the same day at a discount. TKTS has a couple different locations; I decided to go to the one in Seaport because it is usually less busy than the one in Times Square. The office opened at 11 a.m., and I was there by 11:15 or so. I only had to wait in line for about 15-20 minutes, but the line was outside in the hot sun during the heat wave, so it seemed longer. After picking up the tickets, I walked a couple blocks further to the South Street Seaport area. It ended up being a mall on the coast of the East River. It was nice to get out of the heat for a little while, and the area offered great views.

The Brooklyn Bridge (front) and Manhattan Bridge (behind), looking across the river to Brooklyn:
Part of Lower Manhattan, from the coast (looking slightly north):

More lower Manhattan (looking slightly south), with the masts of a couple ships docked at Seaport:

That evening, Brian and I headed to the theater district. We saw Avenue Q, which is a show about adapting to life after college. The show has some human charecters and some muppet charecters. We both really enjoyed it.

After the show, we walked to a nearby icecream shop for a treat. We ate our icecream in chairs in front of the shop (Brian said we were the perfect advertisement for them). I insisted on a picture, and Brian made this face:

4th of July

2010-07-10T22:47:00.002-04:00

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. Brian and I relaxed at home a lot over the holiday weekend. We did go out to see the fireworks over the Hudson River. We also had some traditional 4th of July food, like hamburgers and cole slaw. I made us some special holiday tarts too. These are based roughly off of a couple different pie recipes (including Anne's strawberry pie). They have a cream cheese-based layer at the bottom and the top is rasberries and blackberries covered with a rasberry glaze. Yum!

The tart interior:

We watched the fireworks from Hoboken, which is the next city to the north. We are at about mid-Manhattan (still below Central Park). The Empire State Building has the red, white, & blue lights. Once the fireworks started, we discovered that they were actually being shot off further north, so we had to move a bit further up the river. We didn't want to go too far, so at least half of the fireworks were behind buildings for us. Still, what we saw was pretty impressive. And our view was directly behind an American flay, which seemed like an okay thing to block part of your view on the 4th, you know?

(Please excuse the pictures--it is hard to take clear shots at night.)

Day in Central Park

2010-07-02T22:00:00.007-04:00

This afternoon, Brian and I took a break from job hunting to explore Central Park. It was a beautiful day (the last one in our forcast for the next week or so)-sunny but not too hot. I will use the map below to describe where we went. I think if you click on it you will be able to see a larger image (which will be necessary to read the small numbers in the orange boxes).

To get to the park, we took the B subway line to 81st street. This stop is right next to the American Museum of Natural History. Since Brian had never seen the museum before, we walked around part of it. It is a really interesting building; it looks a lot like a castle and it has a large lawn, which is quite rare in Manhattan. (This is the museum used for the movie A Night in the Museum.) The museum is number 27 on the map. These pictures are along 77th street. The main entrance is on Central Park West (but it doesn't look like much right now--it is under construction)--this door is only an exit.

After checking out the museum exterior, we walked into the park along the entrance at 77th street. We headed south along West Drive and followed the paths that curve around the Lake (map number 31). The Lake is really pretty. There were a lot of row boats dotting the water. We saw many people out walking their dogs, walking along the paths, running, and biking. It was a relatively busy park--and I'm sure it gets much more crowded on the weekend. Here is Brian posing by the Bethesda Fountain (map number 10).

The water in the picture's foreground is the edge of the Bethesda Fountain. We are looking out over the lake (you can see a few of those row boats on the water). The building on the edge of the lake is the Loeb Boathouse, a nice restaurant (map number 7).

From the fountain, we continued to walk around the lake along several of the small paths in the area of the park called the Ramble. I was trying to find the Belvedere Castle, which I thought would be a lot more visible that it eas in reality. Actually, in the park, it was uncommon to see the tall buildings of Manhattan, which was really surprising to me. The trees were really great for hiding all but the tallest buildings in the surrounding city. Anyway, we ended up back at West Drive and headed north this time. We crossed the 79th street transverse and I knew we had to be getting close. We passed the Swedish Cottage (#4) and the Delacorte Theater (#3) before heading up some stairs to the Shakespeare Garden (#5). Finally we passed through the garden and found the castle (#6). In my defense, it ended up being a very small castle. Still, located at one of the park's highest points, it allowed us to get a good view of the Great Lawn (#29).

Here is Brian looking out at Turtle Pond (#30) and the Great Lawn (#29), which is filled with baseball diamonds. The buildings in the distance are on 5th Ave and Madison Ave. We can only see the buildings because we are at quite a high point in Central Park.

Here I am at the base of Belvedere Castle. You can see how small the structure is.

This picture shows the western part of Turtle Pond, as well as the Delacorte Theater. This theater is the setting for Shakespeare in the Park, a summer program in NYC. Tickets are free, but you need to get up super early and wait in line for them on the day you want to attend. There is also an online lottery (which we are a part of), but there is no guarantee that we will get tickets. I would like to see the Merchant of Venice (Al Pacino is playing the merchant!), so those are the tickets I am trying for. Also visible in this picture are some of the large rocks, which are scattered all over Central Park. I wonder how they were deposited in this area geologically (glacier?).

Looking out over Turtle Pond & the Great Lawn (similar to the picture above minus Brian):

Brian and I both took pictures of us together (the next two pictures). I won't tell you who took which picture right away, but we need you to vote for your favorite. Which picture is best?

Picture A

Or Picture B:

We climbed the castle stairs (tiny spiral staircase) to check out the view at the top. Here is Brian inside the second castle level (out of 3 levels). They had a display on birdwatching, along with models of the birds you might see (including the hawk, above Brian's head).

On our way out, I took thic picture of the castle's doorway. I like the creature above the door, although I'm not sure exactly how to descibe it. It appears to be part dragon, griffin, serpent, and lion.

Here is the castle's plaque:

Here is a picture of the entire castle structure. It was a cute castle, but not too large. It was a great place to look out over the rest of the park though.

As we were walking south along West Drive, we cut in a little bit to catch this view from the northwestern part of the Lake (#31). Here we could several Manhattan buildings, since there was such an extended area without trees. Those row boats were still out!

We were heading back to the subway, but since it was such a nice day, we ended up walking all the way back to the PATH station at 33rd street instead. We exited Central Park at 77th street and headed west one block to Columbus Ave. We then walked south along Columbus Ave until we hit Broadway and followed Broadway to Columbus Circle. We were getting hungry at this point, so we were basically enjoying a relaxing walk while looking for food. As we passed Columbus Circle (#17), I snapped a few quick shots of the statue of Columbus on a high post in the center of the circle. Both of these shots are from the south (basically at #18) looking north towards tall Manhattan buildings on the left and Central Park on the right.

We continued to walk south until we got to Times Square (here is a picture at the northern edge of the area). There were a lot of people sightseeing and selling all kinds of things. There was also free Dr. Pepper being handed out (to promote their new cherry flavor), which I really enjoyed. We ended up stopping at Ruby Tuesdays on the square to have some dinner. We were seated on the upper level, so we had a nice view of people walking around (good for people watching).

It ended up being a great afternoon. The weather is supposed to get a lot hotter starting tomorrow, so I was happy to get out and walk for several hours today.

Old school dumbwaiter

2010-07-02T12:23:00.002-04:00

The neighbors living above us are renovating their kitchen, which has made our building a more interesting place for the last several weeks. First, a bunch of kitchen cabinet parts appeared in the basement (along with major appliances). Then the banging started. It isn't really that bad, since we spend a lot of our time in the very front of the house and the kitchen is in the very back of the house. Also, they never start before 8 a.m. Still, I can hear people hauling stuff up and down the stairs, and when I am in the kitchen, I can hear banging and drilling.

A few days ago, our neighbor came to ask if he could get into the dumbwaiter shaft in our kitchen. I was not aware that we had a dumbwaiter, but it sounded interesting to me, so I said it was fine as long as our landlord agreed. His request did solve the mystery of what the random door in the kitchen was for. It took the workmen a while to get the door open, since it had been sealed shut with several screws and years of paint. Once they got the door off, it was clear that the apartment next to ours had used wood to seal their part of the dumbwaiter shaft (likely to install shelves on their side). The workmen needed to do some drilling to get run their wires from upstairs down the shaft to the basement. Once that was completed, they put the door back in place.

I learned that our building is over 100 yrs old. When the upstairs apartment opened their dumbwaiter access door, they found a newspaper jammed in the door to keep it shut. The paper was from the 1940s, so the shaft had been closed up for a while. I went to the upstairs apartment to investigate further. From there, I could see the pulley and wheel used to operate the dumbwaiter (all manpower, no motor). I went down to the basement and found the actual dumbwaiter platform. The rope is no longer connected to the upstairs wheel, but a piece of it was still sitting on top of the platform. Our downstairs neighbor told me that these were used to bring trash down to the basement. Anyway, it is a pretty cool historical feature. Wikipedia has a decent little article on dumbwaiters, if you are interested in learning more.

Here is the rope fragment that remains at the top of the dumbwaiter platform (still tied around the large metal ring, used to raise and lower the device). The wooden rails used to guide the platform up and down are on the very edges of the picture. If you zoom in, you can see part of the label. If you can figure out any of what the label says, please post in the comments. It would be interesting to discover more.

Here is the dumbwaiter in the basement. There may have been a door here at one time, but now it is just an open hole, tucked behind a couple of water heaters. It is totally dark, but the camera flash really did a good job at making the details visible. The metal-covered cord in the upper left is my neighbor's new stove connection for the kitchen remodel. You can see the top of the dumbwaiter from the past pic (with the rope fragment). The device extends down as an empty box, so there is a place for items to go when they are transported. The box is open on both sides, since apartments from both sides would use the same dumbwaiter.

This view looks up the dumwaiter shaft from the basement. You can see the rails on the left and right of the shaft. The newer-looking wood at the top is where the shaft is closed off at our apartment level. Just before that, you can see the doors to the dumbwaiter for the 2 first floor apartments (bottom and top in the picture). The stove wire that is swirling free is the one that was just installed.

Here is the dumbwaiter door in our kitchen, once they got it open. We had no idea what it was (and it was clearly painted shut), so we had shelves in front of it. The stove is to the left and the window is to the right. As you can see, the opening is boarded up after a short distance.

Here is the wheel at the very top of the shaft (looking up from the upstairs access door). The dumbwaiter guide rails end here, and the hole in the center was used to guide the rope.

Social stuff

2010-06-29T21:07:00.002-04:00

We have had the chance to be social a couple times recently. First, we met Linda at her NYC apartment. Linda is a friend of Grandma Sites. She showed us her lovely NYC place, which she was just visiting briefly to get it rented out again. We had a nice brunch nearby after seeing the apartment.

Linda and Brian:

Last weekend, I went to Long Island to see some of our friends, who recently moved to a new place. Brian was planning on going, but Brussels was ill on Saturday morning when we were getting ready to go and he ended up staying at home to watch over him. It was great to get out and visit with some people, although we were all sad that Brian missed it. I did take some pictures, but I decided not to post them, since I am not in any of them.

Just a picture

2010-06-21T21:26:00.000-04:00

Census

2010-06-21T00:30:00.002-04:00

As you know, I have been working a lot for the census. Last week, we wrapped up our current operation (visiting houses that had not returned their form by mail). My census team had a social this weekend to mark the end of our time together. (There are still some other operations, but people can be shuffled around for that, so the teams change.)

We met at the house of one of my co-workers. She is a Pakistani woman and made lots of food for everyone (including some super spicy rice). We also asked everyone to bring something to share, so we ended up with a ton of food. There was some talk about our work, and I think Brian got a better idea of what I did the past couple months as part of the discussions. We had a good time and were sent home with many leftovers.

Here we are at the social:

Here I am with a few of my coworkers:

Smallworld

2010-06-21T00:26:00.002-04:00

Recently, Brian bought us a new game called Smallworld. The basic idea is that you are trying to control as much of a map as possible, but the map is too small for everyone and things get crowded. I wonder if anyone reading this blog has played Smallworld?

Here is Brian considering his next move. We are playing the board for 2 players (the board gets a bit larger for more players). The first time through it was a little slow because we were learning the rules, but we caught on pretty fast.