The only man in the room

I did many fun things last week, and, had I written them down earlier, I would have remembered some good stories to tell. As it is, I have a few. Tuesday last week I went with some friends to Spiral Jetty! It was so much fun and so interesting. Every time I have gone it has been different. This time the jetty and the land it sits on were completely dry. The water didn't even really come near. We had to walk out a ways to get to the water. The water was very shallow for quite a ways (to be expected in the GSL, where the whole lake is shallow), but it was separated, almost into pools, by raised lines of mud. Sticking out of the mud were gypsum crystals, which looked pretty surreal. All in all, we had a wonderfully salty, wet good time. Afterwards, we hiked a little hike at Golden Spike National Park, and saw a little gopher snake, which was awesome and a black widow spider, which was not so awesome.

A couple of days later, I was at a wedding reception where the parents of the bride wanted everyone to open the bottles of sparkling cider to have a toast. Nobody could open their bottles, and nobody had any tools to open their bottles. At our table, I pulled out my Swiss Army Knife and we opened our bottle. People noticed what we were doing and asked to borrow the knife. Soon the knife was passed around the whole room. I was shocked. I was the only man in the room!

Finally, tonight Jessi and I made churros from a mix. They were very tasty, but not as good as from a restaurant. We are now committed to perfecting our churro making skills.

Richard Peck, Richard Peck, Richard Peck!

As a collector of Newberry award winners, I have definitelly picked out my favorites over the years. At or very near the top of that list is A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck. Because of that one that I loved, I have read several others of his books. I have become a big fan (even though the books are a bit below my age bracket), and thus was very excited when my sister told me he was coming to town and her friend who works at the library that hosted him had reserved us some seats!

Afterward my sister commented, "I wish I had a transcript of his whole speech. It was like reading CS Lewis. You want to take time to study every line. Every line was thought out and penned beforehand, you can tell." She was right. Listening to him talk was a feast for the ears. He had a lot to say about education and families, mentioning that if schools seem like they are failing, families have already failed. He's a big advocate of reading to very young children. He said that too many people come up with excuses like they're too busy, or the kid is too hyperactive; "I wanted to be hyperactive, but my mother wouldn't let me."

All in all, it was great, although, he did manage to get in a dig about me not having a job. During his speech he talked about what makes a good story and mentioned that moving home after graduating college is not cool.

Ego Boost

I like ego boosts. I like them a lot.

So this morning I have been working on sewing an apron for my mom to give her friend for her birthday (pictures to come later). As I was sewing, one of my mom's piano students' younger sisters came wandering in. Her mother grabbed her and answered her questions about who I am, then told me what her daughter said, "She's even beautiful, mom."

This tells me a lot of things, the first being that kids really have no sense of attractive. I was wearing my pajamas, hadn't washed my face, hadn't put in my contacts (so I was wearing my glasses), and definitelly hadn't touched my hair. And yet, I still felt pretty good about myself.

Foods

Lately I am really enjoying my once a week cooking assignment. It has led me to believe that I would be quite happy as a housewife. Hear that all potential husbands?!? I like to cook foods and stay home and such! Take note!

Anyway, I have cooked two things lately that I really liked. Interestingly, one is very vegetarian, while one is as un-vegetarian as you can get! The first is black bean burgers, and they were yummy! I ate them with the salsa that my roommate and I made up.

1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chiles)
1 green onion
1 small garlic clove
small handful of fresh cilantro
half a lime

*Drain the Rotel and chop everything up in an electric chopper, except the lime. Squeeze the lime juice into the completed salsa, add maybe a little salt, and enjoy!



The other recipe is a direct result of watching Julie and Julia. My mom wanted to make something special for her dinner on Friday, so she thought she might like to try Boeuf Bourguignon. I got to try making it Tuesday so she could know if it would be good. We found pdf's of the recipe on this website. Turns out to be a winner. It's a beef stew, and it tastes pretty awesome. We ate it according to the directions on the recipe, with boiled potatoes and steamed peas. It is just so meaty and good.

Music of my mind

This may make you think I'm crazy, and maybe I am. Ok, here's the story: When I fall asleep, I hear noises, and often they sound like music. So, last night, as I was going to sleep, I had a prolonged period of in-between, when I could hear a lot of noises. It sounded like a symphony, but none I had ever heard before. I woke up and thought, maybe I can get this on paper! Unfortunately, as I tried to remember those melodies and wonderful bass lines, I couldn't remember one thing. All that was left was a knowledge that 1. I had never heard it before (at least, nowhere but my mind) and 2. it was a wonderful mix of classical, modern, and post-modern styles.

As I slipped back into that in between state, the music started again. It was beautiful, and this morning I can remember nothing.