Vino!

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! The 2007 vintage was released on November 15th, and there was much rejoicing around the world. It's a simple fruity wine that's bottled soon after the grapes are harvested (and meant to be savored just as hastily), made from Gamay grapes in the Beaujolais region of France. A unique method called carbon maceration is employed, which means instead of crushing the grapes first, the grapes are fermented from inside the skin. Because it tastes like alcoholic fruit juice, it's the 'ditzy blonde' of wines - it's one wine that won't be offended if you drink it with ice cubes(!). Probably the only reason wine drinkers even care about the BN is the marketing hype... yeah. (Hard to ignore a wine that's so widely anticipated and celebrated; so well-loved you would... bathe in it? Une piscine de Beaujolais au Japon - sacre bleu!)

Got two bottles - the regular BN from Georges DuBoeuf and a Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau from Leonard de Saint-Aubin. I'm saving the latter, which I'm skeptical about, for our private sipping pleasure and taking the DuBoeuf to Thanksgiving.

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While I was huddling around the wine rack picking out another bottle for tomorrow, I took advantage of the little daylight left and snapped some shots.


My dusty collection





No fear of being thirsty in the House of Meow!

Wine: check. Now, for my Thanksgiving contribution... I volunteered appetizers, but I only have ideas for dessert. Foolish? I'd better wish on my lucky stars that the grocery stores will be open later. What should I make? (Maybe I should pop open a bottle to help me think. ;)) The kitchen calls...

Les Feuilles Mortes

Another season, another year. Time to don wool coats, strap on high boots, and reckon with my love-hate relationship with turtlenecks again.

The best part of the season is the food. So many delicious seasonal comfort foods, from soups and casseroles to pies and cider... just thinking about fall, one can almost imagine the warm smell of cinnamon and apples wafting through the cool crisp air. We went apple-picking in October, like we do every year, and we're almost through with the 20 lb bag of apples. Lately I've turned from apples to cranberries - I have been in the kitchen (barefoot!) almost every night this week making sauces and muffins. My back hurts and I get cranky after 11pm, but it's well worth it. There's something about the cool weather that makes the kitchen so inviting, and me its (sometimes) willing slave.

I've also been diligent with my needle 'n yarn! Been working on two concurrent projects - Project HubbyScarf and Project FuzzyScarf.


HubbyScarf and FuzzyScarf

The former is a simple green ribbed scarf for E that matches his coat. (Amateur knitters make simple scarves.) The latter, a purple variegated scarf, is a treat for myself, made of the softest yarn imaginable - so soft that all you want to do is cuddle with it. It almost feels like cashmere, until you peek under the label and it says 'acrylic fiber blend'. Yes, plain ole' acrylic, meaning it probably contains vinyl acetate, which has endocrine-disrupting phthalates. Imagine, a toxic cancer wrap around my neck. But it's so soft! It's a blissfully soft toxic wrap that feels like a cloud.

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Thoughts du jour:

* The market is upsetting. When I was younger, I used to think it's funny when people say that being an adult means constantly worrying about money. Well, I guess it's not so funny anymore, and in fact quite sobering. Major sux0rz.
* For that matter, the state of the world is pretty upsetting too.
* I haven't touched my piano in weeks, and the guilt is starting to bite. I had grand plans to read all the Czerny I have, but instead I'm slowly unlearning the pieces I already know, from lack of practice. Sigh.
* On a lighter note, we went to a Bhangra competition last weekend - cool stuff! It must be tons of fun being in a synchronized dance group.

Speaking of synchronized dancing, I found this video of some young Singaporean kids busting out mad dance moves; they must only be 13 or 14 years old, but they're definitely more polished than even the groups I've seen in college. Check it out:



(They even have a blog! Dang, some of them are still in Primary School!)

Happy Halloween!

Ninja wants YOU...



... to have a fun Halloween. :)

(Pepper will be watching you)

Garden of Glass

For the last few months, Pittsburgh has been in for a treat - Dale Chihuly is showcasing his exquisite glass art at Phipps Conservatory. As the exhibition is in its final weeks, we decided to check it out a few nights ago.

I've always pictured Chihuly to be an eccentric little old man from a lesser known European nation with a wicked and prolific imagination, churning out fantastic works of art in a little studio somewhere. I've seen images of his avant-garde glass sculptures and the famous glass ceiling at the Bellagio, but know little else. Turns out the master is a stocky gregarious American with an eye patch - seeing only with one eye for the last 30 years, he translates his concepts through canvas paintings and verbal directions to glassblowers that he hires. We saw some of those paintings on display at Phipps, and watched part of a video where he orchestrated the construction of the Wall of Ice in Jerusalem, Israel. (He was quite the prima donna and really cracking the whip, but when his vision finally materialized, everything seemed worth it. An artist's gotta do what he's gotta do, eh?)

It took us about 2 hours to go through all the installations, and we even rushed through some. There were a few I felt lukewarm about, but most were jaw-dropping and incredibly amazing.


Centerpiece at the foyer - whimsical classic Chihuly


Organic installations like these amber cattails make the exhibition visually stunning


Fire & Ice - Fiori Sun and neon blue tumbleweed


The themed rooms were out of this world!


Flower chandelier


Macchia Forest - my favorite installation


Closeups - the curves and colors that make the art worth thousands

There are great pictures on the website too, if my pics don't do 'em justice.

I might even go again during the day - it's an opportunity not to be missed!

Llama llama duck

Well, maybe not llamas...

We visited an alpaca farm last weekend. Still dreaming of visiting Peru one day, but in the meantime, this will be as close as I'll get to the exotic creatures. A few dozen alpacas roamed the open field, grazing, completely untroubled by the flock of camera-happy tourists on National Alpaca Day (there is such a thing... who knew!).

Alpacas are prized for their incredibly soft fleece; we had a chance to pet a cria (baby alpaca) and feel bundles of fleece that were about to be spun into yarn. Softer than Pepper! (But we won't tell her.) There are two kinds of alpacas - huacaya and suri. Huacaya alpacas have slightly coarser fleece and look like woolly camels; suri alpacas have 'dreadlocks', and the finer breeds look like creatures out of a Hayao Miyazaki fantasy. (In fact, they can be found on some farms in Australia because they scare away the foxes.)

Male alpacas start at $500, but female alpacas start at $12,000, and generally go for higher. Depending on the 'quality' of the animal (color, texture of fleece, etc.), they can fetch anywhere from $25,000 to $250,000. Because they are domesticated, valuable, and so damn cute, some are sold as pets.

Took pics of them, of course:








A mother and her baby

For a souvenir, I got a pair of rainbow-colored alpaca mittens. :D I'll save the fancier souvenirs for when I visit the alpacas that graze on the Andean range...

Back in Pee-Ay

Ay. Long time no blog.

It's been 2 months since we eased back into the Pittsburgh routine. I've got my yinzer speak down pat again. A few blog-worthy events have transpired since then, but every time I get around to writing about it, all of a sudden it feels like much ado about nothing. But what's a log for, anyway? Here are the past few weeks in brief:

* Been hanging out at cafes regularly in the evenings, particularly this one. I love it. It's got everything a cafe should have: free wi-fi, an impressive tea menu and unpretentious (good) coffee, alternative music, an appropriately indie crowd.
* Hubs finally built the media center; he fixed up my brother's old laptop and installed MythTV on it. It's like a TiVO but cooler (heh, I'm shameless). We have movies, music, photo galleries, and soon, video games, all on a portable 320GB external hard drive... little magic box. I'm surprised that my software guy did such a great job on this hardware project. Go honey!
* Got older. Celebrated my birthday at Soba Lounge (best martinis!) with an Asian-French prix fixe dinner - not quite the same as what I used to get in Boston, but still good.
* On the other end of the food spectrum, I went to Hooters for the first time with the IT guys from work. I finally saw real Hooters girls, in person! They were really stacked. I was the only female patron in the whole place, and I got the manliest salad ever - a giant plate of croutons and fried chicken pieces piled on a skimpy bed of lettuce. The most ironic thing about lunch was that the guys talked about strippers, football, and home improvement projects. (Could it get more cliche than this?) Very educational glimpse into the male psyche, though.
* At a friend's indoor BBQ, we took turns jamming on the guitar - Kevin played this. OMG! He did it! I didn't know if I was going to faint or ask him to marry me. :) (Check out more of Andy McKee's awesome music here: www.candyrat.com)

Took a road trip to Amish country over Labor Day weekend. We stayed at Cameron Estate Inn, and our room was on the third floor of the mansion. It was our third bed & breakfast experience, and I'm still skeptical of old and dingy inns, but this was definitely different. Gilchrist & Soames bath products, Ralph Lauren linens, complimentary sherry for a nightcap... It had lavish Victorian furniture and fine china, but also free wi-fi. Breakfast in the mornings were in the sun room, where we could glance out into the lush green estate and trout stream.

The inn is not only a B&B, but also a restaurant; we had dinner there our second night. I had a chocolate-themed dinner (when in Rome):

Foie gras au chocolat
Salad
Cabernet and basil sorbet
Cocoa rubbed lamb loin chops
Tiramisu

Hubs had the duckling with raspberry sauce, and homemade bread pudding for dessert. When we couldn't finish our desserts, we were invited to bring our plates up to our room, then come back down to nurse a hot cup of mint tea.

For the 3 days we were there, we did something different each day.

Day 1: Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire (Pirates and wenches and gypsies, oh my!)

Virgin faire-goers we were, it was overwhelming. So much to see and do! People really got into it - they dressed in period and talked like Shakespeare. The entrance to the fairground had a huge sign: "God Save the Queen". We drank wassail and ale, watched jousting matches, shopped for trinkets/corsets/swords, and took pictures.


16th century street in the 21st century


Glassblowing demo


Dancing around a Maypole!


The Queen and her entourage


A duel in the Human Chess match to determine the next chess move, and a knight raises his lance at the jousting tournament


Hubs dives into a turkey leg, viking style


With Cap'n Jack Sparrow, on our way to the pirate ship

The 16th century wonderland still had 21st century conveniences; for one thing, many vendors took credit cards. Mastercard and Lady Visa! (Bwahaha!) We brought home a few bottles of mead and blackberry wine from the Faire.

Day 2: Hershey (Death by chocolate in the Sweetest Place on Earth)



Hershey, PA is like one big ad for chocolate. The streetlights were in the shape of Hershey kisses; we drove down Cocoa Ave and turned on Chocolate Ave toward the chocolate factory. Along the way, we passed Hershey Park, a popular amusement park with incredible rides like this:


Taken from inside the car as we drove past

At Hershey's Chocolate World, we took the tour with hordes of other tourists. The ride took us past singing cows and through the manufacturing process, with a quick 101 on the different Hershey brands. (You can tell their Marketing department had fun with this.) To exit the tour, we had to walk through the gift shop, a massive warehouse of Hershey gifts and products. After the 20-minute brainwashing session, how could we resist? We grabbed cacao nibs, organic dark choc, spicy Aztec hot cocoa mix, cherry cordials, Reese's minis... Hubs, my little sweet tooth, was in heaven.

After stashing away our loot, we went to Hershey Gardens for a look. Beautiful place!


Taken in the Butterfly House with the telephoto lens

The roses were my favorite. Over 7,000 roses in 270+ varieties, says the website - it was surreal standing amongst the many rows of beautiful blooms.

Parched and hungry, we then made a beeline for the Fountain Cafe at Hotel Hershey. We had a slice of strawberries and polenta cake with a balsamic reduction and mascarpone, and a tall Grasshopper with vanilla ice-cream. After the afternoon snack, we drove around Hershey taking pictures of over-the-top chocolate-themed street signs before returning to the B&B.

Day 3: Amish country (Virginia may be for lovers, but in Pennsylvania we have Intercourse - Seen in a souvenir shop)

From Intercourse to Bird-In-Hand, the highway we drove on took us through a touristy stretch featuring all things Amish - farmer's markets, pretzels, crafts, pottery, and quilts. Over the years, sights like these have dulled my city girl sensibilities and diminished my agoraphobia.


Acres upon acres of corn fields. So much corn! It's a wonder that the locals eat anything other than corn.


Fresh beef on the sides of the highway


Stealth shot of an Amish farmer - the Amish don't like having their pictures taken

It took us a while to find out the difference between the Amish and Mennonites, and it still is a little confusing to me. Despite the austerity of their lifestyles, the quilts can fetch a pretty penny - up to thousands of dollars for larger fancier stitchwork. From quilts to furniture to pies, they're done the good ole'-fashioned way. Even root beer! E saw a sign for homemade cold root beer on the highway and decided to give it a try. We turned into a narrow path and drove into a little housing community; there was a small wooden shack at the front, almost like a lemonade stand, selling different-sized jugs of cold homemade sasparilla. It was actually very good!


Hubs quenching his curiosity (geddit? aha!)

While we couldn't afford a quilt, we bought plenty of jams, relish, honey, fresh apples and peaches. Hurray for farmer's markets!

Overall a great trip - it wasn't the typical vacation destination but it was a convenient and fun getaway. I've resisted this concept for years, but now I'm slowly willing to admit that Pennsylvania's pretty cool afterall. (Suck it, Ohio!)

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At this moment, on the other side of the world, my best friend of 13 years is getting hitched. Congratulations, and I'm really sorry I can't be there. Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness, and many cute chubby baby Lee's! Welcome to the married fogies club!