Errands

Today was a day of errands. First I had to sew up a big rip we put in the boat cover yesterday - I guess I used too much bleach to clean it and the fabric has weakened. Andrew is going to order a new one. We did about 5 loads of laundry and then the never-ending shopping day began. Andrew needed to pick up some components for the band at a music store in Greenville. We stopped by Sam's, Whole Foods, Walmart and BiLo, dealing with the crowds and traffic. We are getting too used to small town living. The day was sunny and hot and we wanted to be on the lake but the errand shopping needed doing. So we decided to take tomorrow off since it is Memorial Day and the un-official start of summer. We will spend the entire day on the power boat doing nothing but relaxing. Tonight for dinner we made a new recipe: Tofu-Vegetable Fried Rice. By the time we got home, unpacked and started cooking it was 8:00. The meal involved a lot of prep: carrots, zucchini, brocoli, green onions, leek, napa cabbage, water chestnuts, tofu, eggs, rice, balsamic vinegar, vegetable stock, sherry, and soy sauce, but the final result was worth it. Andrew cooked up some chopped chicken thighs to add to his bowl. The meal reminded us of Korean Bim Bap, which we have a great recipe for and have made several times after learning about it on the plane coming home from Japan last year. We added a little Thai Chili Sauce for a hot and spicy kick. Yum yum.

What a Difference a Day Makes

This morning around 10:30 we put the boat in the water, after killing a bunch more ants and some eggs too - I hope we can win that battle eventually. There was only 1 other guy at the boat launch so it was pretty easy. After a few cranks of the engine it started up and I motored over to the slip while Andrew drove the truck and trailer back to our house. We discovered a red plastic kayak had wedged itself in our slip, so we put it on the outer walkway. If no one has claimed it in a few weeks, we will take it ourselves - I love kayaking! After coming back to the house to shower, eat, and pack the cooler, we went out around 1:00pm to give the boat a good first of the season run. The weather was sunny and very warm. There was a pretty good breeze which made the water rather choppy, in addition to all the other boats and their wakes. We took a long run down to Big Water Marina where the sailboat is. It took well over an hour to get there, and we also had to stop half way at Portman Marina to fill up the gas tank. What a zoo that was. Some guy on a huge houseboat nearly sideswiped us while Andrew was holding the gas hose filling up the tank. We can't exactly move at that point buddy! He was having a bad day, but he didn't need to take it out on us. We were sure glad to get out of there. After finding the sailboat in good shape (but it needs a good washing!) we put some fuel stabilizer in the gas can and then made the long trip back up to our neck of the woods. Check out this video clip of Andrew speeding along back home. It was a really great day!

Why We Haven't Launched Yet

We left work a little early yesterday to launch the boat since we realized it is Memorial Day weekend and things might be a bit crowded at the boat ramp. After a nice sunny day, we come home and two "pop-up" thunderstorms hit, so we drank a few beers and fixed the icemaker in the fridge instead. Hopefully we can fight through the crowds and get the boat in the water today! You would figure that with this rain the lake level would go up, but it seems the corps is just letting the water back out at the dam. Last night we watched the DVD "Prime". It was a chick flick with Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. I liked it but I think Andrew was pretty bored. There seems to be a glut of chick flicks on the shelves right now. I don't mind though.

The Swamp

Well we won't be canoeing for awhile. As of this morning, the lake is down by 2 feet. Unless we get some tropical storms this summer, I don't think we will be canoeing this year. In 2004 we didn't canoe until September when Hurricanes Frances and Ivan dumped a ton of rain on us. Maybe that will happen again this year since the Hurricane Center is once again predicting an above normal season. You can see what's left of the beaver dam in the lower picture. It is hard to believe that one year we had the power boat docked here for a couple of days. That was the year the lake was 2 feet above full pond.

Things are warming up

We are starting to get our summer heat now. After work yesterday Andrew and I were in shorts and tanktops working outside. Andrew is continuing his greenhouse plumbing and wiring project and I planted out 12 plants. This morning it appears that the mystery animal has moved on because the plants are still in their holes. Last night we had a new recipe: Zucchini Fritatta from the Williams Sonoma "Vegetarian" cookbook. It was pretty good, but we won't be having this very often since it requires a lot of eggs. This coming weekend the temps are forecast to be in the high 80's to low 90's and sunny, so we will definitely launch the power boat and be on the lake. Andrew wants to do a lot more waterskiing this year and work on his rooster tails. Maybe I will get up on one ski too.

Barbaro

Unbelievable what happened to Barbaro at the Preakness. We did not watch it live and just heard about it today. We tivo'd the PBS newshour and saw the footage. His right rear ankle looked like rubber. Apparently after a successful surgery he still has only a 50-50 chance of surviving. Best wishes Barbaro!
On Saturday night we watched the DVD "Munich". It was a pretty good movie. Made me glad that I am not a secret agent - I couldn't stand the pressure. After work today I mowed the grass and Andrew drilled a hole in the foundation for the electrical pipe for the greenhouse. I still have yet to order the greenhouse! The photo is the last azalea of mine for the season. "Last" means that it is the latest bloomer in my yard. It is a very pretty clear light pink and never seems to get attacked by the mites/aphids/whatever that attack my other azaleas. Maybe I will learn how to propagate it once I have my greenhouse. Unfortunately I have no idea what cultivar it is. The boat is still in the driveway. Andrew wasn't feeling that great yesterday so we just took it easy after doing the grocery shopping. Hopefully we can launch it soon! Dinner tonight was just leftovers. For desert I had some of my favorite raspberry chocolate from Whole Foods.

Rained Out

Today we thought we'd get the power boat from the storage yard, clean it up in our driveway and then launch it and cruise around a little. Finally the temperature was in the low 80's and it felt warm enough to go boating. We took a burrito break around 1:30pm and suddenly the skies got very dark. I checked the satellite weather images and sure enough a little cell was headed right in our direction. We abandoned the burrito-making and quickly manoeuvered the boat into the garage. It just fit, and we were just in time. The thunder and rain came moments later. The trees were blowing, lots of lightening, small hail was pelting everything and the cats were stuck outside somewhere too. Here is a short video clip. Listen close to hear the hail banging on the truck. After it blew over, we had about a 2 hour window and then the skies opened up again, this time for much longer. We really needed that rain and hopefully this will bring the lake up a bit. We also discovered that a ton of ants had colonized in the boat. Major pain. I hope we got them all. We will probably have to hit the engine compartment with another shot of raid and a good vacuum in a few weeks. Other than that, the boat is in good shape and we will be launching it tomorrow and it will stay in its slip until the fall.

Last night we had a new dish for dinner: Tofu with Vegetables and Pasta. You can see in the photo that Andrew modified his by adding some cubed ham. We watched the DVD "Shop Girl". We had both read the book a long time ago and we thought the movie last night was pretty good. It was a normal story about normal people - it was rather refreshing that there was no violence or over-the-top scenarios. However, the character of Jeremy might have been a little overdone.

Wexford Cream Ale

On Tuesday we had our spring staff picnic at work, and got the afternoon off, so Andrew and I went to Greenville to spend some money. We got some books, clothes, and some items at Whole Foods, including 8 of Andrew's favorite beer, Wexford Cream Ale (which we are drinking right now). Andrew has been busy working on the greenhouse project. I have yet to order the greenhouse and that is making Andrew nervous. In addition to the the killer mockingbirds and industrious beavers of late, we now have to deal with a mystery animal digging up my recently (and only the recently) planted shrubs and perennials from Lowes. On Monday I bought a lot of plants and was starting to plant them out a few at a time after work this week. Every morning, every new plant is lying on the ground, roots exposed and rootball disintegrated, with the dirt and mulch from the planting hole scattered all about. Every morning I replant the plants and the next morning they are pulled up. It must be a possum or raccoon or something else. I am thinking that I'll have to start putting up cages of chicken wire - the plants are not eaten, it is just the soil that is attractive, maybe the animal thinks it contains bugs or worms to eat. I have about 15 plants remaining and have been hesitant to plant them out now. I guess I'll have to take my chances.
Tonight for dinner we had a new dish: Chickpea Stew. The spices were interesting and powerful according to Andrew. Garam Masala, Ground Ginger, and Ground Tumeric. It reminded me of a middle-eastern or Indian camp fire dish. Very easy to make: chickpeas, potatoes and tomaotes, add spices and cook until tender.

Beautiful Gardening Weather

The weather has been fantastic lately - the temps have been colder than normal and there's been a lot of breezy sunny days. I have been working in the garden and even Andrew has been getting out there. Andrew is working on the trenching and putting in electrical and water lines for the greenhouse I will be ordering soon.

We fished 2 new 20 amp circuits so I will have plenty of power: one circuit for the heater in the winter and the other circuit for lights. Unfortunately I can't site the greenhouse in full sun due to the forest and the homeowner's association rules. So I wil be running lights in the winter and early spring. A couple of garden pictures are here: the first is my one and only Sandra Bernhardt Peony bloom and the second is of the Henri and some other Clematis that finally are starting to earn their keep.
The next 2 pictures are of the area under construction: the first shows the eventual end of the new brick path, the path will pass by the shed on its left and by the future vegetable beds on its right. I want to try growing vegetables in the "square-foot gardening method", using a raised bed, and I hope I have enough light to grow the vegetables successfully in this location. If not, I will have a cutting garden for fresh flowers.
The second picture shows Andrew's trenching for the greenhouse. I bought a ton of plants today at Lowes and will be busy this week getting everything planted. We watched 2 DVDs this weekend. Match Point: really liked this one and the ending is pretty good. An Unfinished Life: this one was ok, a little predictable, but a nice story in the end and good acting by Bart II.

Since we discovered Moe's burritos, we decided to try making them at home. Veggie for me and steak for Andrew. They turned out really good and we will definitely make them again for weekend lunches. Just get some black beans, southwestern style rice, lettuce, cheese and wrap it up in a torilla wrap. Andrew adds steak and sometimes salsa to his. Dinner tonight was a new recipe: Red Lentil and Brown Rice Cassarole, from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. It was very easy to make, just put the red lentils, brown rice, crushed tomatoes, onions, spices and vegetable broth in the cassarole dish, bake in the oven for 90 minutes, and then add some veggie cheese on top under the broiler.
This would also make an excellent filling in a torilla wrap for lunch too. I also made a batch of marinara sauce for freezing. This is a great sauce to have ready in the freezer for quick suppers. I was supposed to make muffins and cookies tonight, but I am doing laundry and think I will watch the final episode of Survivor instead.

Attack of the Mocking Birds

After work today we went grocery shopping since we were too lazy to do it yesterday. I made a corn chowder soup for dinner, and served it with bread and a cup of chili. I also picked up two new magazines for me: Vegetarian Times and Yoga Life. Both have some tasty looking recipes that I want to try. This weekend I finished Goldie Hawn's memoir book, A Lotus Grows in the Mud. I got it from the library just by chance. Andrew and I had gone for a coffee in the library and he wanted to read a paper, so I was browsing the popular reading section and came across her book. I didn't know she was originally a dancer. I signed up for the gym today, but my card won't activate until July 1 since I wanted to be in sync with Andrew's membership which he just renewed today. So I have just under two months to psych myself up for getting up every weekday morning at 6:00am with Andrew and heading to the gym for an hour or so. Andrew is doing excellent and has been going steadily for quite awhile now. He does weights and has recently added some cardio. We took his blood pressure this afternoon at the grocery store, and it is down to 123/83 which for him is an excellent reading. Lifestyle changes have definitely made an impact on lowering his blood pressure.

In other news, Sidney is getting attacked each day by two mocking birds. It is really quite something, even the neighbors have commented on the noise the birds make and have asked me what is going on. The birds follow Sidney all over our yard and harass her constantly. I feel sorry for Sidney and I wish she would make a move on the birds, such as hissing or attacking back with a leap and swipe of her claws. But she doesn't, she just flinches and tries to stay low. So far the birds haven't actually hit her that I have seen, but they swoop down very close and their screeching is very loud and annoying. As a result, both cats come inside the house right after we get home from work and want to stay inside for the rest of the evening, even though the sun isn't setting these days until 8:15pm. I guess the birds have a nest nearby. I am hoping that within a month or so this will be over and we can all return to piece and quiet. Those mocking birds are also attacking any nearby robins too. I had no idea they were so aggressive. They are also excellent bug eaters, so I want them around for that, I just wish they would leave Sidney alone.

Debut

Friday night we went to the Spot for Benny's retirement party and Cinco de Mayo. We hadn't seen Benny and Renee for ages and it was great to receive the party invite in the mail last week. Benny worked for 35 years at the same place and never missed a day for the final 28 years! He and Renee will be going on a long road trip to visit Nebraska, down to Texas, across to California and then up the coast, stopping in Vegas of course.

Well, last night, Saturday night, the Hoodoo Hounds made their debut. Here is the video. They were better than I was expecting and drew in quite a crowd. The bar staff seemed very happy. They played 3 sets, stopping at just before midnight when the bar closed. Unfortunately Andrew was tucked way back in the corner and so it was difficult to see him. With 6 guys in the band, it looked a little cramped on stage. But the sound was great and people were dancing, and that is all that matters. Our neighbors Matt and Angie, and Chip and Jenni came to show their support, it was nice to see them. We had mentioned the show to Stu from the Spot, but he didn't make it. Andrew is hoping that the Hounds can play at the Spot at some point. Also Pitchers on the lake is another possibility.

Wildlife

Last night I made a new dish, chili and corn-biscuit cassarole. It is a chili made with beans and seitan (a vegetable protein) that is sandwiched between two layers of cornmeal biscuit batter and then baked in the oven. It turned out pretty good. The chili was excellent, Andrew thought the biscuit was a little dry.

Andrew's mom wanted to see some pictures of the geese family and a turtle, so here they are. The geese are hard to see since we couldn't get too close to them. The turtle has dried mud on its back. I also added a photo of the herb garden area, the cat mint is now in bloom.

The geese are the small blobs approximately the middle of the shot (click on the photo to blow it up a bit). In the second shot they are swimming but it is very hard to see. We took these photos on Tuesday while canoeing. If we tried to get closer, the geese get nervous. I don't want to be a goose paparazzi. We checked on the beaver dam yesterday and it doesn't appear to have been fixed, however the water has receded about 2 inches and so we couldn't be canoeing anyways.

Dam Beaver!

The movie King Kong was ok, the effects were really good. It dragged on in places though, and we both felt it could have been shorter than 3 hours. Andrew had read the comics when he was little and he said the plot stuck to the original story very well. Last night at pool Andrew won his match. He played last, and we ended up with 4 out of 5 points. We are certainly peaking now as a team, but it is too late since the season is now over. Unless we get the wildcard spot for the playoffs, Andrew and I are done with pool until the fall session.

Finally there is just enough water to canoe, so today after work we launched from the dock (we had to propel the canoe for the first couple of feet through muddy bottom using our oars as levers, and I made Andrew wear his hip waders just in case!) only to find that a beaver has created a dam right across our entrance to the main part of the lake. Last summer we saw this huge beaver under our power boat while we were getting ready to go out for a day of boating. I had no idea that beavers were so big. They have the body size of a labrador dog and their tail is at least the size of a 12 inch frying pan. We had also seen the tail of something slipping into the water while we were canoeing in the back areas around our dock. So now it appears the beaver is setting up shop right in our little area! I will have to do some research on beaver dams since we are not sure what side the beaver has its home on - one side of the dam is contoured mud with claw marks, and the other side is about 5 feet thick of branches. Here is the rather long video. After Andrew cleared us out a channel through the dam, we made it out to the lake and saw the Canada goose family with their 5 little babies swimming in a line. We will be observing the dam over the next few weeks to see if the beaver patches up the hole we made.

After canoeing I made a new dish for dinner - cabbage with red beans and rice. I didn't think I'd be liking this one too much, but it actually tasted great. The recipe said it is Italian comfort food. I can definitely see us eating this in the winter months, curled up on the couch under blankets watching a movie. I think what is making a huge difference taste-wise in all these new recipes is the vegetable base I am using to make stock. It is called Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base from Superior Touch. It is reduction of vegetables that you just measure out 1 teaspoon into 8 oz boiling water, and that's it.