Halloween 2024

This Halloween is special because a major home-improvement project, which has been more than a year in the making, is almost complete. It will probably be done tomorrow, but it’s close enough to done that we could host trick-or-treaters!

There are two parts:

  • the new front porch that replaces simple concrete steps
  • hardscaping the front yard with pavers

We decided to have a little fun this year as well, by letting Consuela out for for a breath of fresh air.

front porch and path leading to front door
Our new front porch, and the hard-scaping project that is almost complete

The remaining part of the project involves some stone cutting to define the path leading up to the stairs, and adding some curbing along the far side of the driveway.

Consuela the doll with offerings
Consuela greets all who dare approach her

Above Consuela’s head is a lamp with a deep red bulb. We were going for a spooky look and I think we achieved it. Our younger trick-or-treaters declined the delicious full-sized candy bars. She really creeped them out!

It didn’t help that Beta child hung out on the other side of the window with a small “screamer” that she would set off whenever an older child approached Consuela’s dais.

rules for Consuela
It doesn’t matter if you believe in souls or not. If Consuela wants yours she will have it.

Aurora Borealis

Megh and I enjoyed a collective life goal tonight: seeing the Aurora Borealis with our own eyes.  I’ve wanted to see this for nearly my entire life, ever since I saw the movie Antarctica.

The sun is at a peak of the current solar cycle. A CME was detected the other day, and it’s arrival tonight was predicted by the Space Weather Prediction Center.

Megh, Beta, and I found a dark spot near Rockport, arrived as dusk approached, and waited for the fireworks. Nature did not disappoint.

It started before the sky was completely dark, and initially appeared to be a whitish haze across the northern part of the sky. We started to despair that high clouds were going to interfere, until we realized… the show had actually started.

aurora borealis reflection
I really like this one because the Big Dipper constellation is visible behind the aurora.
aurora borealis spires
The camera’s “night sight” mode not only brought out the colors, but also enabled us to see the reflection off the water.
red and green aurora borealis
You can really see the classic undulations and spires
red aurora borealis
The colors were so strong in this shot, the camera didn’t really add much to this photo. I really enjoy the strong break between color and night sky.
aurora borealis apex
The aurora climbed the northern sky until it was overhead, which is when I caught this photo.

These photos are color-accurate, but a little brighter than what we actually saw.

Sleepy Gerbils

Just a couple of happy gerbils in their little hut.

gerbils snuggling in gerbil house
They’re just a couple of dudes that like to snuggle

They generally head below to the main part of the enclosure to nap, but this time they decided to stay up above, and have a siesta together in the remains of their “house”.

Their eyes may be open, but they were definitely in low power mode.

Beta child had just cleaned their enclosure an hour before.  It’s amazing how fast they can litter up the place. It must be tiring.

The Crux of the Matter

“The unborn” are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.

– Methodist Pastor David Barnhart

Meatball Marsala

To make a complete menu: start with my meatball recipe, make some mashed potatoes, then top with this Marsala.

Meatball Marsala

A classic meatball marsala, just add meatballs
Print Recipe
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine European
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron pan, 15"
  • 1 measuring cup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp butter salted
  • 16 oz sliced mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup Marsala wine
  • 1 pinch black pepper optional

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter over medium heat
  • Toss in the mushrooms, flip around to coat with butter
  • Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they soften and start to brown, about 10 minutes
  • Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat the mushrooms
  • Stir in the Marsala wine, and bring back to a boil
  • Stir in the chicken broth, and bring back to a boil.
  • Turn down the heat and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, 5-10 minutes.
  • Add the cooked meatballs, stir to coat the meatballs, remove from heat, and serve
Keyword butter, chicken broth, mushrooms, wine

 

Adapted from food.com.

Stew Beef and Egg Noodles

This is a family favorite.  It’s delicious, but it’s not healthy.  Each serving takes about six months off your life expectancy.

We frequently pair it with glazed carrots, but it also goes well with buttered peas or a green salad.

Stew Beef and Egg Noodles

Pan-fried stew beef served over buttered egg noodles
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 5 people

Equipment

  • 1 pan, large I generally use a 15" cast iron pan
  • 1 stock pot
  • 1 bowl medium-sized for dredging beef
  • 1 wooden spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb stew beef
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp butter divided
  • 4-8 tbsp olive oil
  • 12 oz egg noodles 12 oz = 1 standard bag

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the stew beef by cutting it into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch cubes)
  • Put on a pot of water to boil
  • Mix flour, pepper, and garlic power together in a bowl
  • Dredge the cut-up stew beef through the flour mixture until all pieces are well coated
  • Heat pan at medium heat with a tbsp of butter and a tbsp olive oil
  • Once butter is melted and oil starts to shimmer, you're ready to start cooking the beef.

Cook the beef in batches

  • add beef one piece at a time
  • Let each side brown for about a minute, flip to brown next side, repeat until all sides are brown, and then push to the side of the pan.
    You can generally add about 10-20 pieces at a time before it's time to flip the first piece. Flip everything until all sides are brown, then push to the side and start the next batch.
  • Add more oil as needed to keep the "landing area" for new beef coated in a thin layer of oil.
    The flour will tend to soak up the oil. You don't want the pan to get dry, or the new pieces won't brown properly.
  • Once all pieces are browned, spread evenly across the pan and allow to cook for 10 more minutes or until pieces are cooked through.

Make the Egg Noodles

  • Cook according to package directions, drain, then return to the pot and add a tbsp of butter. Mix to coat noodles with butter.

Serve

  • Spoon noodles onto plates and top with beef.
    Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the cooked-on bits unstuck, and divide among your servings. (they carry a lot of flavor.)

Notes

This recipe scales very well.  Increase ingredients proportionally.  I've made it with just over two pounds of meat; much more and I would have needed a larger pan, or a second pan.
Keyword beef, egg noodles, stew beef

Every time I make this recipe I can’t help but wonder when egg noodle companies cut their bag weight from an even pound of noodles to 12 oz.

Road Trip 2024: Eclipse Edition

Back in 2017 I made a road trip with Alpha to view an eclipse as it passed over Illinois.  (We got tangled in traffic before we reached the path of totality, but it was a good trip overall.)

When we got home I started planning our next eclipse trip, so that pesky traffic wouldn’t prevent me from seeing totality.  Enter the six-year plan leading up to the latest eclipse in 2024, with the path of totality passing over Niagara Falls.

eclipse path map from NASA
NASA’s map of the eclipse’s path

We arrived a couple of days before the eclipse, and left the day after.  Traffic would not be a problem this time.  We had hotel rooms, cameras, snacks, and chairs.

The one thing you can’t control is the weather.  It was cloudy.

Most of the path of totality was cloudy, as a matter of fact.  A relatively short swath from Vermont to the Atlantic was mostly clear, but the rest of the path had varying levels of poor weather, including some nasty storms.

We eked by with a mostly cloudy experience, which had a pleasant side-effect: filtering wasn’t required for most of the time.

Approaching totality of the eclipse
The one artificially filtered picture I took. The rest were filtered by the cloud deck.
landscape during totality
During peak totality the sun and moon were completely obscured by clouds, so I took a few photos of the landscape
solar eclipse totality viewed through clouds
The clouds thinned out just enough during totality for me to catch a glimpse of what appears to be the corona, just before the moon slid out of the way. It could also just be glow from terrestrial clouds.
border of darkness and sunlight
As totality came to an end, we could momentarily see the border between darkness and light over the Canadian side of Niagara
sun peeking from behind the moon after totality
The clouds add some drama to the scene as the sun slides out from behind the moon again
more sun peeking from behind the moon after totality
A few minutes post-totality, the moon’s shadow leaves a Cheshire-cat-like visage

I’m not really that kind of driver, am I?

[Me, driving normally]

[Me, pulling ahead of someone and tucking myself neatly into their lane]

[Meghan, with genuine respect]: Nicely done!

[Beta child, from back seat]: When I have to get somewhere quickly, I drive like dad does normally.

[Me]:
D&D What GIF by Hyper RPG