Here's What We Did in Portland...

Zombie Walk!

Drank Delicious Coffee!!

Drank Local Beer!

Ate exquisite food!

Dressed up for Halloween : ) 

Now that I am an expert in all things Portland, feel free to hit me up for info and suggestions regarding your next trip there. : ) Cause you know you want to go! (Maybe wait till spring/summer though...)

Christmas Came......

...But Halloween comes first, so without further ado: the Jack o' Lanterns! Thanks to Abigail for providing excellent pumpkins and suitable (albeit-bendy) pumpkin carving tools! I only mention that because apparently you can buy pumpkin carving kits at Williams-Sonoma, which I am sure are around $100 so better be purdy sturdy!

Old Dogs are the Sweetest

Jack Skellington and Bats-fer-Eyes!

Cocoa Dolce chocolate is so good, it kills me. See? Literally!

And now for Christmas! You may have noticed, but Daniel bought me a new camera! After receiving said camera, I spent about 10 minutes taking pictures of random objects and oohing and aahing over what a fantastic photographer I have become! (Not really.) Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!

May I just point out that this same wonderful man is the same man who can tell you how to properly apply dark purple lipstick (more on that in a following post), who knows the secret to the perfect grilled cheese (the trick: toast BOTH sides of the bread!!),  and who roasts a freakin' AMAZING batch of coffee! Whoo!

Two more things, for those in the Wichita area:

1) Fidelity Bank is great, to the point of letting their customers vote for their favorite employee-decorated pumpkin! Makes for a fun banking experience!

2) I have tentatively started a Wichita-themed blog, whywichita.wordpress.com. The goal is to create a place where people can go for ideas about what to do in our city, to become familiar with local entrepreneurs, musicians, etc,  to learn about cool local businesses...mainly, to build some excitement about why Wichita is a good place to live.

And finally, I'm not sure this has been an issue lately, but you never know...so here is a good poetic reminder Not to Gossip:

Whispers, whirling rumor-dust
The hush-hush undertow
Of smothered glances, faces flushed,
That all-but-one man show.

The terror's in unknown offense,
Of being next in line.
So gossip while you're still on top:
It's just a tick of time.

"B...Or Not...A B?"

 Daniel found this lovely video recently. Patrick Stewart as [a loose version of] Hamlet on Sesame Street. I've mainly just seen him as Professor X in X-men, but this gave me a whole new appreciation of his "acting chops"(?), and tons of enjoyment as well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA7lv1SDzno

Till Them Cows Come Home

Poor li'l...somethin'-er-other

How rude! Never take a picture of someone coming out of an outhouse! (Don't worry, it was inoperable and I didn't use it!)

An example of "Granny Medicine" from the old days

Daniel the Un-Dead

Daniel the very-much-alive and having way too much fun swinging :)

Come visit Wichita and we'll take you to the Old Cowtown Museum! As you can see, it is highly interactive and as such, one of the  most fun museums I've ever been to. :) I would be happy to play "frontier" with anyone of you faithful readers. For those of you not from these here parts, Cowtown is a recreated frontier village complete with old houses that have been relocated and renovated, a one-room school house, a church, a saloon, general stores, a dentist's office etc etc...pretty much anything you could want from an old western town!

Interestingly, after going to Cowtown (which is right in our back yard practically!), we walked around the neighborhood and found a garage sale whose garage was JAM-PACKED with old timey artifacts, many like we had just seen at the museum! Several hand-turned coffee grinders, an antique sewing machine, shelves and shelves of musty-in-a-good-way books, you name it! Old shaving kits...Unfortunately we got there as they were closing, so didn't have nearly enough time to look around, but it was surely one of the most interesting garage sales I've ever seen!

Also yesterday, our neighbor invited us over for the best cappuccino I've had in a while, made with PT's coffee (from Topeka, KS). Such a good memory... :)

All-in-all, a perfect Sunday!

Little things may hold you back--
A misplaced strand of hair, a stain,
A glove-gone-missing (older days),
A doubt, a half-felt pain.
But larger than the passing, petty,
Pardon-me-but-no's,
Is overarching wonderful,
The possible, the Go!

Selling Coffee Fun Times!

Finger Zombie Loves Brain-Noodles!! NOMNOM

This is our "booth" space at the Food for Thought's Fall Fling Market! We got to stare at yummy-looking Gluten-Free cookies and a variety of teas all day :)

Coffee roaster-and-blender Daniel Rittler, sippin' a tiny cup o' joe.

Awesomely creepy Halloween headband I bought for my Mrs. Lovett Costume!!

Here is a better picture. One of the vendors we met last time made this--I don't know if they have an Etsy site, or a business name, or I would post it here!! Because you would love looking at all their fun creations, from these headbands, to...

...sweet little feltie creatures like this baby Weenie dog! They also have some larger knit animals, like a Fox in a scarf and a goat with a green goatee, both of which it nearly killed me to say goodbye to at the end of the day (melodrama...but seriously they were cute!) 

Anyway, we had a great day talking to people about coffee, even if doing so for five hours is exhausting and we both needed a good long nap later. :) Got to build up some market stamina!  Very grateful to Food for Thought for helping out local craftsmen/women and hosting such a fun event!

Yay coffee!

The Europe In My Backyard

The Beautiful Castle Inn on Riverside...Roof

It's coat and hat season!

Daniel on his way down from the tallest tower...

Mischievously brewing beer!! (This was the fast/easy part. Some of the parts were long and dull)

Shake it shake it shake it!

Yes, we had our do-over at the Castle Saturday night! It was so much fun--not just because there was yummy food this time, but we got to meet/chat with some of the other guests, most of whom were there celebrating anniversaries or even their wedding night! The first couple we met ended up telling us crazy stories about their kids growing up for about an hour over dessert and coffee. The next morning, I put my foot in my mouth after breakfast by talking in a phony English accent in front of *gasp* Actual English People! Then we climbed to the top of the turret and I felt better.

On Sunday, we brewed a Summer Wheat beer! Oh my goodness, I had no idea there was such tedium involved in beer-brewing! Which means I made good progress on my current reading material and got a wee bit snippy at poor Daniel.

Speaking of Daniel, when I got home this evening, he greeted me with homemade mango lassis! They were delicious! Here is his "recipe" which does not, of course, include proportions:
1 Mango
Honey-flavored Greek Yogurt
Vanilla Ice Cream
Cinnamon
Tumeric
Whipped Cream (for garnish, with more cinnamon on top)

Just go for it. I'm sure it will be a delightful beverage even if you use a different ingredients ratio.

Also, here is the recipe I used for homemade apple cider!
http://chaosinthekitchen.com/2008/10/homemade-apple-cider-because-you-can/
It does take about 3 hours to make this from scratch, but that mainly involves letting it do its thing on the stove while you read a book...

..a book like Dracula! It's Halloween Season!! Read it!

Not to include too much random info, but this is what Daniel discovered while looking up costume ideas for Sweeney Todd:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroni_%28fashion%29
If you've ever wondered over the "and he called it macaroni" line from Yankee Doodle, this will make you feel better.

A poem about how you can't escape yourself. And sometimes selfishness makes things that should be incredible less incredible. With an ending on a positive note:

Foreign ports, apart from hanging spice,
Sharp ginger fog in bright-cloud gold-spun air,
Heat haze that makes the harbor's dancing wave,
Be lost, be found, are just another fare.
So find yourself--a sea, ashore, appalled
At all the Failures following your flight
The cruel, new-found friend already lost
To tennis players, babbling and bright;
The envy haunting wit and wisdom both;
The fear that fakes a headache for the night;
The self-absorption preying on today
That kills Adventure bite-by-bitter-bite. 
Still, don't despair:  You will be everywhere,
But truth, and Love, and grace are also there.

I Love My Birthday!

My sister crocheted this sweet baby kitty! It comes with a "certifiCat of adoption"--I still need to think of a great name!

He likes to sleep on bookshelves, absorbing wisdom. He also doubles as a Siren, silently luring other cats into the comfort of our home, with the help of the heater...

Birthday surprises! After getting back late last night, the cat in my lap was practically waiting on our porch and ran inside as soon as we opened the door. That little bugger to the left and his sister were wrestling in our front yard, and eventually he ran inside, too!

I love being befriended by random cats! But got too attached too quickly and was sad when I had to carry her outside again :(

Party Table! Highlights: Dirt'n'Bug cups (Nifty Nut House in Wichita offers more than just gummi worms--here you see gummi centipedes, slugs, and Halloween-colored worms!), and White Chocolate candy corn m&ms.

In addition to new feline friends and dessert, my birthday rocked because of these things:

1) Daniel's Butternut Squash Soup
2) Homemade apple cider (I'm talking starting-from-apples here!)
3) Seeing friends and family!!!
4) Corn Maze at Cox Farm If you live in Wichita, you should go!! Especially in the dark. It was pretty quiet there on a Friday night, so they forgot to give us a map which probably made it even better! The corn is thick and way taller than your head, so you get good 'n' lost with no trouble at all! It is family owned/operated, and everyone is very friendly! They also have a pumpkin patch, live music on weekends, concessions, etc.
5) Unexpected hay ride! We managed to find our way out of the corn maze at about 8:40, and as we were walking to our car, the lady at the ticket counter yelled, "You should stick around for the 9 o'clock hay ride!" Sounded fun, and, as it turns out, it was free! So of course we did--which meant we got to see all the pumpkins growing on the vines, the beautiful stars, silly scarecrows and 1 very grumpy llama who didn't appreciate being woken up by a bright light shining in its face...
6) Daniel getting our chiminea ready for the party, and really our entire home--he's been cleaning all week, roasting coffee, making soup, taking the cake :) Yay Daniel!

And the fun is not over yet! Tonight we are having our 'make-up' night at the Castle Inn, where there will definitely be food this time! And tomorrow, heading to Mums and Jim's for experimental beer-brewing! Meanwhile, I'm doing about a million loads of laundry and having a nice, quiet, relaxing morning. Perfect!

Bunch o' Nothin'

I am a legal dope! (That chemical complexity is caffeine!!)

It's a miracle! The "Moses Part..."

We've had several bad hair days around here lately. It's gettin' painful. :)

Sunflower went crazy! I love you!

Batch 2 and 1 of macarons. The 3rd was the best, but none were perfect. GRR! I don't think I had enough egg yolks in batch 2...somehow the dough was super-stiff. 

This is an exciting Saturday because 1) We got to talk to my brother for the first time in 2 months!  and 2) It's the first time in 8 months that Daniel and I have spent an entire Saturday together! We got breakfast at the Copper Oven, which was delicious, and have been house-cleaning ever since. More or less. Also, I signed up for the GRE on November 16 so there is NO GOING BACK! Whoo! Now it is nearly 5 o'clock and I am still wondering when I get to take a nap.

Last night we saw Sweeney Todd at the Crown Uptown Dinner Theater. It was wonderful, even if their Sweeney was no Depp-like eye-candy. For dinner they offered meat pies!! And an incredible butternut squash soup served with moist, homemade pumpkin bread. And we got to sit in a comfy booth, which just put icing on the cake. (It was chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling, by the bye). Jenny was playing in the pit orchestra (go musicians!) which was the chocolate sprinkles on top of the icing on the cake. And baby Ilana was there watching the show with us, eating the table. (The table underneath the plate underneath the cake...) If you are in Wichita, do go to the Crown Uptown someday. They often have a groupon for their new shows.

http://www.crownuptown.com/


Too much noise and confusion for writing poetry. Too many weights on my eyelids. Plus, it's time for Acorn Squash! Over 'n' Out.

Simple Sing-Song Sayings

 (These are to be read quickly, and with a strong dactylic emphasis. :) Just for fun...

Certainly turning the clock would collect a return on the time we have spent.
Possibly proving the proof in the pudding would lead to relieving the lie.
Nothing but noting the knot you have tied can unravel the reasons behind.
Anything ending in infinite bliss is suspect, be it fiction or fact.
Lonely the lord and the lowly have been, though embraced by a bevy of friends.
Simply imply that the thoughtless is wise and he'll thank you and think you're all right.

Feel free to write some of your own in the comment section!

A day in the life:

Last night I dreamt that I was shopping for yogurt in- and out-of my underwear. I was so excited, because apparently Yoplait had had a flavor contest, and I could buy all the winning flavors for the first time! Strangely, they were all vegetable-based, but the only one I can remember had to do with red pepper and feta. Anyhow, today at work I was gifted with 1/4 bottle of Cappuccino-flavored Kefir (a yogurt-like probiotic liquid), and a Greek yogurt! In addition to the other Greek yogurt I had already brought for lunch. I finished the Kefir, and ate both yogurts for lunch, since none of the other food I had on-hand sounded appetizing. I have prophetic dreams! 

In other news, I also dreamt last night that I believed I was pregnant, and had been telling everyone this for 8 months, when I realized that I had ZERO baby-bump whatsoever. "Whoops, never mind, I was wrong," I told everybody, when OUT POPPED A BABY! Whoo, I was right all along! Just a physical anomaly. And THAT, my friends, is not a prophetic dream, so...the only conclusion to be drawn from all this nonsense is that I really like yogurt.  

Finally, I will provide pictures later, but I have been tackling the monster that is macarons. Three batches=three entire evenings this week devoted to the project. Has anyone out there tried making these before, and if so, do you have any solution to the Giant Air Pocket problem?? I made one tray that turned out near-perfectly, but other than that...failures. There is some strange chemistry that goes on with egg whites/meringue, and I am not privy to that knowledge/understanding. HELP!

Saturday Night at the Rittlers!

Daniel rehearsing   for Halloween-we're going as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett! (At least that's the plan. And ALL of PORTLAND will be TREATED to my walking around singing The Worst Pies in London ALL DAY! They don't know what's coming!)

Or maybe we'll ditch the S. Todd idea and just go as our favorite woot.com Random Shirts! Or maybe I'll just serenade a piece of bacon. "Live in my house, I'll be your shelter, Just pay me back with nomnomnomnom."

Also, I just found out that Daniel is pregnant! He is having "weird cravings," which means dinner is potatoes with sauerkraut and gouda. Pass the congratulatory beverage, sil vous plait!

Finally: watched Little Shop of Horrors for the first time! (The original, non-musical version) What are some of your favorite musicals? I need more songs to sing while I'm working.

New Hobby?

Yep, Williams-Sonoma had half-price beer-brewing kits! Stay tuned...

Fancy a Mullet, Anyone?

The Mullet Cometh! (I'm entering my tri-monthly period of feeling apologetic everytime I go out in public. As in, "I'm sorry you have to see this haircut." It all ends when I run screaming into a salon.)

Why I love Saturdays: Dessert for breakfast! In this case, peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I used this recipe from the Pioneer Woman blog: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/peach_crisp_wit/, only omitted the maple cream sauce, substituted a mixture of honey/agave nectar for the maple syrup, and added a couple splashes of brandy. SO delicious!

Daniel and I visited what may be the liquor store with the largest wine selection in Wichita. After spending way too long feeling overwhelmed, searching blindly for a wine with that perfect combination of cheapness+ an interesting label, I finally wandered into the beer aisle and found this. You can't resist the Killer Penguin! (Hope it tastes great, too!)

 

 

 

So, thanks to this blog post (not THIS one, but this one: http://theerstwhilephilistine.com/2012/09/05/why-you-should-be-watching-rev/), I have come up with a series to fill my Bunheads void. If you, too (and who doesn't?), need to watch move TV (yes, that was sarcasm), then read this post and see if it doesn't convince you to pop on over to hulu and watch Rev. ohwhydoievenstart?!

By the bye, if you return to picture #2, lying to the left of my delicious breakfast is a letter from my brother, straight from boot camp! Whoo!

Thanks to the cool front and a new display of chai, apple cider, and skeleton aprons at Food for Thought, I'm feeling in the mood for Fall. And Halloween! (Which we will be spending in PORTLAND!)  So here is a poem:

Fashionista Fancypants spoke scathingly to Sue:
"You can't wear mullets, pinks with reds, or polkadots and plaid.
It hurts my head, it makes me mad!
What frightful things to do!
But you are clad in ALL of these-AND boots in garish green!
Oh, please put on this overcoat-
It's simple, black, and oh-so-haute..."
Said Sue, "It's Halloween." 

I Get a Kick Outta Words!

Jenny, here's your picture! I took some creative liberties with your sentence, I'm afraid :)

Is it fall yet? I keep thinking about hot chocolate...longingly, followed by a shudder and a search for ice water. That above picture is me after a run-walk yesterday evening. Looks fun, but I was ill-prepared (hydration-wise) for that li'l bit of exercise, and now I'm working on a 24-hour headache. Took the afternoon off, and took a nap.

Don't worry, this blog is not going to keep giving you fourth-grade flashbacks, forcing you to face one vocabulary list after another...but just one more, please?! These are such fun words! Thanks again to Kaplan Vocabulary Cards, with some help from the American Heritage College dic-tion-ar-y.

1. Malediction
2. Nabob
3. Galumph
4. Lugubrious
5. Faineant (imagine an accent over the "e")
6. Limpid
7. Legerdemain
8. Malinger

1. Malediction-"a curse; a wish of evil upon another" (also, anathema; imprecation)
2. Nabob-"a person of wealth and prominence" (American Heritage)
3. Galumph-"to move or run clumsily or heavily" (American Heritage)
4. Lugubrious-"sorrowful; mournful; dismal" (make sure you say lu-GOOOOO-brious. Makes
    a sad word glad!)    
5.  Faineant-"given to doing nothing; idle" (American Heritage, pronounced fay-nay-on)
6. Limpid-"clear, transparent"
7. Legerdemain-"trickery"
8. Malinger-"to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill" (Ferris Bueller, anyone?)

Here is a link Christi sent, to the cutest cookie sandwiches! Looks like a fun blog, too, but I haven't gotten beyond the PB&J sugar cookies yet.
http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2012/08/peanut-butter-and-jelly-cookie.html

Another up-and-at-'em poem:

Sever simply-holding-ons
Be calm oh clingy heart
The past is meant for memory
The present, a new start.

Banish brainless future-fears
Potential, premature
Risk accident (fall far fall flat),
'Love living' is the cure.

Fun with Words!

Brought to you by Kaplan's GRE Vocabulary Flashcards!
You can quiz yourself: I'll list ten words, and put the answers at the bottom. Oh, and I am in the "I" section.

1. Incarnadine
2. Inchoate
3. Inculcate
4. Ingenuous
5. Inexorable
6. Ingratiate
7. Inimical
8. Innocuous
9. Inquest
10. Insipid

How do you think you did? Here are the definitions:

1. Incarnadine-"blood-red in color"
2. Inchoate- "not fully formed; disorganized"
3. Inculcate- "to teach; to impress the mind"
4. Ingenuous- "showing innocence or childlike simplicity"
5. Inexorable- "inflexible; unyielding"
6. Ingratiate- "to gain favor with another by deliberate effort; to seek to please somebody so as to
      gain an adantage"
7. Inimical- "hostile; unfriendly"
8. Innocuous- "harmless"
9. Inquest- "an investigation; an inquiry"
10. Insipid- "lacking interest or flavor" (ew!!!)

If anyone comments on this post using one or more of these words in an interesting sentence, I will draw a picture to illustrate said sentence and send it to you! What could be better?!

Happy Labor Day!

Not for the Mature of Heart (revised)

Lesson learned, still learning,
Leaning back from glaring fact,
Turn safe-ward, sprint like mad,
Dig holes, dig caves, dig through the earth
Till core presents a problem you can solve:
It's death or do-over, a second chance
To be absolved, to breathe, to last.

Kisses and Cookie Butter

 View from the balcony at Montelle Winery near St. Louis.

 They offer free wine tasting before dinner...

 ...which included this creamy Caesar salad. And a creme brulee cheesecake served with orange-flavored whipped cream. (With some scrumptious entrees in between!)

This is my new addiction, peering out from behind a curtain. Don't think I don't know exactly where you are at all times, Mr. Cookie Butter.

My plan for the next several months is to start studying for the GRE. It will be nice to have a goal other than, "someday work someplace doing something I love vagueness vagueness hmmmm coffee roastery." Vocab flashcards are in the mail, thank-you Amazon! 

A poem:

A kiss controls exactly--what?

The future or despair? 

A helpless self-deceiving clone

Of pain it would repair.

Still we imagine lips composed

Of lavendar and peace,

Of chamomile, softest sunbeams,

Childhood, release.

But kiss a single tear away,

Another's buried deep--

Awaiting tossing lonely nights

When love is lost to sleep. 

Pursuing (Para)normal

 I FOUND ALIENS!!! Picture-perfect PROOF! They look zing-y and friendly, no?

 Multi-colored eggs from beautiful, happy chickens! Everyone should be or know someone who owns chickens.

 Backyard-chicken chicken eggs taste better, too! As Daniel put it, "This reminds me of the good ol' days when you really had to WHACK! an egg to crack it. Nowadays, they practically crack themselves...WEAK!" (Well, he put it more or less that way...)

And they're cuter, too! Whoops, just kidding-these are some adorable sunny-side ups that Christi knit for me! They are teensy-weensy and fit in the palm of your hand! One of her friends is an incredible knitter and is working on her...third or fourth?...book of adorable knitted creations. Here's a link to her blog: 

http://mochimochiland.com/blog/

I just signed up for a (free) GRE test prep workshop. WSU has a masters in communication program and, having done some simple maths to figure out tuition, it seemed nearly affordable! Especially if you get a teacher's [space]ship (I can't spell assistance-ship so there ya go), in which case it is free! Hmmmmm.....That's what came of my long morning of silent I'M-WASTING-MY-LIFE freaking out. 

Time to slow down:

Silence-scented autumn afternoons

I'm wishful-thinking libraries on old estates--

One high-backed leather chair, one looking glass,

The scowling portrait of a lord surpassed,

A cat named Lady Gray, a young girl's ghost,

Cold tea forgotten on a silver tray...

But as you gaze, rich volumes fade away

To dust, expected drudgery, disdain--

I wish it soothed, to reason or explain

Why, modern, we make war with yesterday.

Now copper kettles preen but never sing

And each house has a thousand faceless twins

Here would I  rest, but there's no lingering

When every story ends as it begins.