Category: Family

In which I go off on a wild tare

So, we have this bay window right? And its big, and pretty, and has a decent amount of room for a display in it. That decent amount of room is usually covered in all kinds of detritus of the house. It leaks cold air like a sieve. You can feel it flowing over your hand like a liquid if you put your hands on the bottom.

Not today. Not any longer. I did a thing. I took everything out of it. The Terrarium. The random horse statue. The weirdly healthy african violet. All re-homed (some of it needs to be permanently re-homed, but I’ll get there).

Once I had it clear, I cut several pieces of 3/4 inch foam insulation to fit in it and covered the shelf.

 

Then I had to trim it to make it look pretty.

Once it was (almost) completely covered, I hit my stash. A couple years ago I made a quilted circle skirt. I had a fair amount of the cotton batting left over that I should have thrown out years ago. I used that to cover the foam insulation and make it look like snow. Its cotton with no glitter in it so we don’t have to worry about microplastics. I used scraps to fill in the gaps that I couldn’t get into with the foam core.

My ability to throw things out has taken a huge hit, but hey. It looks amazing.

Once it was covered, I broke out the lasercut village display Michele gave us years ago. It is really pretty and I love it. I hung two strings of LED lights around it, and added our window candles. It looks so cheery and light!

I sent pictures to Michele. Hopefully she likes them.

I can’t feel cold air pouring out of the windows anymore, so hopefully that is all set, too. It would be nice to not have to plastic the window this year.

White River Junction

Megh and I recently celebrated our anniversary (22 years!), and we took the train to White River Junction, Vermont, for an overnight to celebrate.

Megh and Quinn
On the train to Vermont

The weather started clear and warm, and we ate dinner outside.

The town holds an annual parade for Halloween called “Gory Daze.”  It started at 9 pm and featured a few hundred young adults in costumes and small marching band.  We didn’t know about it until we saw the participants gathering in front of the local museum.  It’s a hoot!

The next morning was cold, cloudy, and (eventually) rainy.  We walked around a bit to check out the town.

Connecticut river
The Connecticut River from White River Junction

We started by heading across the river to a breakfast place in New Hampshire, then came back to do a little shopping.  About the only thing open on a Sunday morning was the local co-op grocery store.  We picked up some maple donuts and oatmeal cookies for the train ride home, and some local syrup for Meghan to give to her coworkers.

Narragansett mornings and evenings

A few photos over the last couple of days.

seascape and lighthouse
Scarborough Beach, Narragansett, with Point Judith lighthouse in the distance
seascape with fog and waves
The horizon disappeared on a foggy morning. The sunrise is (theoretically) directly ahead.

grass and white flowers

harbor seal in the ocean
A harbor seal surfaced near us at Point Judith, while we were enjoying the sunset.
meghan with Narragansett in the background
Megh, looking pensive as she gazes east across the ocean
sunset
Sunset from Rose Nulman park, Point Judith, Narragansett
twilight
Twilight from Rose Nulman Park, Point Judith, Narragansett

Narragansett Beach

waves rolling into Narragansett beach
The day after some pretty heavy storms, the surf was high at Narragansett Beach. The black dots are people trying to surf.

Kung Pao Chicken

This is one of the first spicy things I’ve made that my teenagers actually liked.

Kung Pao Chicken

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 5 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Calories: 400
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized chunks
  • 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine or dry sherry
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper white or black
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar granulated
  • 1 tbsp sambal oelek
  • vegetable oil
  • 2 bell peppers diced large
  • 2 celery stalks sliced thin
  • 1 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup peanuts, roasted
  • 2 scallions sliced thin (optional)
  • 1.5 tsp sesame oil

Equipment

  • 1 Flat-bottomed wok or large frying pan
  • 2 mixing bowls
  • measuring cups and spoons

Method
 

Marinate the Chicken
  1. Add tamari or soy sauce, wine or sherry, cornstarch, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Drizzle 2 tablespoons over chicken and mix.
  2. Add the vinegar, sugar, and sambal to the remaining marinade and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
    NOTE: if you're doubling the recipe because you have a lot of chicken, don't double the sambal or you may make it too spicy.
Stir Fry the Veggies and the Chicken
  1. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add tablespoon of oil, followed by the bell peppers and celery. Season with salt and stir fry until crispy-tender and browned in spots (about 4 minutes).
    Add garlic and ginger and stir fry another 30 seconds.
  2. Transfer veggies to a plate.
  3. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pan, followed by the chicken. Spread evenly across the pan and let cook until golden brown and a little seared on the bottom, 3-4 minutes.
    Stir fry for a couple of minutes, until cooked through.
Combine Everything
  1. Add vegetables back in, and add peanuts.
    Give the sauce a quick whisk and pour in. Stir fry until sauce thickens and coats everything, about a minute.
    Sprinkle in scallions and serve over rice.

Notes

Other veggies you can try: small mushrooms, zucchini, sliced carrots, and/or chopped onions.
We've also made it with tofu instead of chicken:
  • use extra-firm tofu;
  • squeeze the water out by wrapping in towels or a couple of paper towels, then putting on a plate and leaving something heavy on top for 20-30 minutes;
  • cube the tofu into bite-sized chunks
  • toss with a little cornstarch, then fry over medium heat until all sides are golden-brown.
  • Continue with rest of recipe.

Originally seen on The Kitchn.

Walking Through Goldsmith Woodland

Alpha child and I took our cameras on a walk through the Goldsmith Woodlands.

marsh and trees reflected on waterI have a new camera, an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV.  (Their new naming scheme is kind of terrible, but the cameras are still good.)  The last camera I owned was an Olympus OM-4, so using a digital camera is taking some getting used to.

Over time, Alpha has adopted my old OM-4, a Canon EOS DSLR from 2005, and a small number of truly vintage cameras.  Today was a Canon kind of a day.

All of these photos were taken by me on my OM-D.

tree truck with insect and woodpecker holes
One of a number of dead tree trunks in the Goldsmith Woodlands. The grounds are carefully managed, and that includes leaving dead trees in place when possible.
sun through tree branches
Filtered winter sun through tree branches
lone cattail with pond in background
The remains of last year’s cattails, also known as typha
bald eagle in flight
We watched a bald eagle parent taking off; it’s juvenile offspring was still standing on the ice

SCIENCE!

I wanted to see what happened if I poured water off the deck in -7° weather. The result wasn’t an instant steaming cloud, but it was pretty fun!

Remember – this was boiling water. It would have done some damage if it splashed back at me, so I chose my location carefully, and didn’t dump the whole thing at once, but did a slow pour.

Still really cool!

Six

We all went to see Six the Musical on Broadway.

theater stage prior to start of show
Waiting for Six to start at the Lena Horne Theater

We’ve been listening to the album since the spring of 2020, which is when we originally had tickets to see it. (until COVID-19 cancelled everything across the world.)

We did a lightning trip into NYC, driving in mid-day Saturday for a 3 pm show, and leaving the next morning.

I also brought along my newly-purchased camera, my first digital camera that wasn’t part of a smart phone, so I had to take some artsy-fartsy pictures.

new york city street view

Sassy chipmunk

This sassy little chipmunk likes to sit on our fence and chirp at the world.  Here he is in the middle of one of his rants.

Make sure you turn up your volume to hear the barrage of chirps.