Put on the Glasses

I have a thing for graveyards.  I've always liked them.  Not in any morbid sense.  I just like how peaceful and pretty they are.  I also don't have any fear of ghosts or disturbing the dead.  I figure that even if the dead are watching me, Our Town style, then they will be happy that I am remembering them by reading their tombstones. Knowing this, you can imagine how happy I was to be in the Granary Burying Ground in Boston.  It is filled with famous patriots.  Due to the rain, I didn't get a picture of all of them, so here are just a few of my favorites. Here is Samuel Adams tombstone, signer of the Declaration of Independence: Paul Revere's tombstone and memorial: Here's John Hancock's overly phallic tombstone: Finally, there are some of my favorite designs: I loved the graveyard.  I definitely want a skull and crossbones on my tombstone and I love the patina on that metal. More pictures, less grim, ...

Yesterday, Brian and I took a day trip to Boston, Massachusetts.  It was extremely cheap to take a BoltBus from NYC to Boston and we decided to take advantage of Brian's spring break (break from teaching that is). We had a blast and I thought that I should share some pictures of our adventures. It rained really hard all day so some of my pictures are rather blurry. The rain was actually kind of nice because we had the touristy areas to ourselves!  Here's Brian when we first arrived at Boston Common, which is basically a big city park: This is the Rotunda in the Boston Common: This bar was used as the outside shot of Cheers.  It's right next to the Common and the Public Garden.  It used to be called "Bull and Finch" but it is now a "Cheers" brand bar: It was too early in the day to start drinking.  We had beers later in the Cheers bar at the Quincy Market. Despite being touristy, we had loads of fun and had possibly the greatest bartender eve...

Last weekend, Brian and I went with some friends to Carnegie Hall.  I had always wanted to go there but had never gotten around to it.  Luckily, our friend Tanya is excellent at planning things and got us some great cheap tickets!  I thought I would share some pictures of the place for those of you who haven't seen it. Here is what it looks like from across the street: Here it is on the inside: You should actually be pretty happy that you got to see this picture.  I got yelled at by an usher for taking it. I didn't use a flash and the orchestra was only warming up.  However, the rules state that you can't take any pictures inside. He didn't make me delete them so I figured I could post it. Shhhh...Don't tell anyone I posted it here, okay? We saw the Orchestra of St. Luke's and it was terrific.  Even with my lack of classical music knowledge, I really enjoyed it. I recommend it if you are in the mood for some relaxing music in a very classy and cal...

I waited and waited for Brian to post on his own blog about his birthday.  Alas,  it looks like I am going to have to do it for him.  I was pretty proud of what I did for his birthday.  I set up a treasure hunt around the apartment. At midnight, he opened his birthday card and inside was an origami figure.  This was the first one he got: When he unfolded the origami, he found a riddle written on the paper.  This first one had the following riddle: "I am only always empty on the seventh day." Once he solved it, he went to the location to find his next gift and another origami figure.  I was worried that my riddles were too easy for Brian but I was lucky that a few stumped him.  Here he is trying to figure one out: He was pretty happy when he solved the riddles though.  Here is a very happy Brian with a new Ikea gift card from my parents that he found after solving the first riddle: He certainly loves Ikea.  Here he is openin...

I have been switching up my music to things that feel more like spring to me: Rebel Rouser by Duane Eddy Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones Short Skirt, Long Jacket by Cake Rock Lobster by The B52s Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks Can you think of any other good peppy, Spring-tastic songs?  

I like graffiti that makes me giggle.  Spotted this fountain at St. Marks Church, at 10th Street and 2nd Avenue, in Manhattan: Here's a close-up of what amused me: I love it.

This cat loves Spring.  Now she can sit in the window and look out on her old territory.

Last Sunday, as you may have noticed, was Pi Day. As is π = 3.14159... To celebrate this mathematical day, every year Brian and I eat pie.  This year I made my Mom's Apple Pie recipe, famous in our family for it's life-changingly delicious crust. She gave me permission to post her recipe, so here it is: For the Crust: 2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup veg. oil 3 tbsps. cold water In a bowl, mix flour and salt.  Blend oil in thoroughly with a fork.  Sprinkle cold water over and mix well.  With hands, press dough into a smooth ball (if dry add 2 tbsp. veg. oil a little bit at a time until you reach desired consistency; you want it rollable).  Split it into two balls.  Roll out each separately between sheets of wax paper (my Mom uses plastic wrap because the crust is less likely to stick to it and rip; I always forget this).  Now go make the filling. For the Filling: 5 to 7 tart apples (I always use Braeburn) 3/4 to 1 cup sugar (depends on how tar...

These cards were aptly named.  It was a flashback to see them at Target the other day.  I haven't seen these cards since I was a kid.  They made me smile and maybe they will make you smile too. Yes, I bought them.  They were only $1.99.  That is a steal for a bit of nostalgia. Sorry I have been so lackadaisical in posting lately.  Brian's birthday made it a very busy week!

Next year, after Christmas, if you are at Target or Smith & Hawkin and see their Amaryllis kits for sale, buy one.  I got mine for $5.00 on clearance and it has been blooming beautifully for over a month. I don't even have to water the thing. It just blooms and grows. As a matter of fact, I had completely forgotten that I had bought it until one day back in February I was cleaning and found it was breaking out of it's box.  It actually broke through the cardboard.  My own ineptitude with houseplants and forgetfulness can't even kill this thing.  I highly recommend it.  This is one hardy plant.

Because it has been a while since I have subjected you to unnecessary pictures of my cat.  Here she is with what I imagine are her thoughts when she jumps up on my desk: "Where are my treats, Treat Giver?!" "Scratch the top of my head now please.  Then give me treats." "I am bored with you now.  I think I will go bother Brian over there and see if he will give me treats."

I love making Alton Brown's Tuna Croquettes.  Not only do they include my favorite fish, tuna, they are also super easy. Here is the recipe, which is also available here : 1 (7-ounce) pouch albacore tuna, drained and shredded 2 green onions, chopped fine 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 large eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, divided Olive oil, for sauteing Place the tuna, onions, mustard, eggs, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs into a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 8 rounds and set aside on a parchment lined half sheet pan. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Place the remaining bread crumbs into a pie plate. One at a time, coat each round in the panko on all sides. Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the croquettes and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remo...

Here are things I've been thinking about lately but that I do not think deserve an entire post in and of themselves: Movies I know that this will be obvious to some of you but  Dirty Harry was a really good movie. I finally saw it for the first time last week and it was much better than I expected. At the end I was actually yelling at the screen, "Get him, Harry! GET HIM!" It should not have taken me this long to see the movie. Shame on me. There is definitely a gap in my movie knowledge. This must be remedied. I felt this same way when I finally saw the French Connection . I was baffled that I had never seen such an awesome movie before. Can anyone think of any older movies I should see? I saw Precious . It was a tear jerker. Very hard to watch. I had been putting off seeing it because I read the book. The book was so incredible that I didn't think any film could do it justice. Now, the movie was not as good as the book but it was darned close. A lot closer th...

Garden Project 2010 has started!  We went to Home Depot this evening and picked up some supplies for the summer.  I am very excited.  Here's a shot of what I bought: This year, Brian and I are abandoning the backyard (so there is no need to fight with the neighbor kids for space) and we are going to plant our garden on the fire escape.  This will be probably be to our benefit because I will be able to keep a close eye on my flowers and a have terrific view out my window. Here are some things you can look forward to reading about in the 2010 Garden Project: Building a window flower box or where to buy a good one Small space gardening techniques What flowers and vegetables grow best in Brooklyn Alicia's desperate attempts to keep the neighbor kids away from her vegetables Leela's inevitable escape attempts back to her old stomping ground I am happy it is almost time to start growing things again.  I had so much fun last summer!  Hopefully I will le...

I love Eggs Florentine. Who doesn't love a perfect combination of eggs, butter and spinach?! If I go out for brunch, I always order it. At home, however, I have always shied away from it because hollandaise sauce is such a pain. You can imagine how elated I was when I saw in Julia Child's cookbook her recipe for blender hollandaise! Here is a close up of the finished product: It literally took less than 5 minutes to make the sauce.  Here is the recipe for Blender Hallandaise: 3 egg yolks 1/4 teaspoon salt Pinch black pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces In a blender, combine the egg yolks, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Set aside. In a small saucepan over heat the butter on medium high until foaming. Blend the egg yolk mixture at top speed for 2 seconds then, with the blender running, remove the cover and pour in the hot butter in a thin stream of droplets. By the time two-thirds of the...

Music on my Playlist: "Kiss Off" by The Violent Femmes "Add it Up" by The Violent Femmes "The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix) by Morgan Page "24" by Jem "Malaguena Salerosa" from the Kill Bill 2 Soundtrack "Parting of the Sensory" by Modest Mouse "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" by The Beatles Movies Seen Lately with my One Sentence Review: Up in the Air :  It was alright but not Oscar worthy. The Hurt Locker :  See this movie if you haven't already.   Shutter Island :  Scorsese succeeds at making an utterly creepy film reminiscent of the Shining. Avatar :  Everyone was right; it was a good movie. Night at the Museum 2 :  Better than I thought it would be  and I would actually watch it again. New TV Obsession: Archer Other Random Obsessions: I am amazed at how mush more I like the Chrome browser.   The video game Heavy Rain is awesome.