It's raining here in Charlottesville. What I've found after living here for a few months is that when it rains, the crickets that so happily live outside in the grass start coming into our house.
This is Charlie.
I caught him a few weeks ago when it was raining and he decided to get out of the damp weather and warm his little jumpy legs by our TV. I gave him food and water and then he died. Then I caught three more crickets and they died, too. Then I gave all four little guys, which I named the Charlie Quartet, to my friend Daine so he could fish with them. Yesterday (it was also raining) there was an ancient humpback cricket by the front door but he looked too old to keep so I let him back outside.
Act I, Scene 1 Melt one tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in a heavy bottomed pot.
Act I, Scene 2 Add mirepoix when the oil/butter mixture is hot, let cook until soft and flavorful.
Act I, Scene 3 Everything is soft and flavorful now.
Act I, Scene 4 Add leeks and mushrooms, cook until brown and flavorful.
Act I, Scene 5 Add garlic paste and thyme, and cook until heavenly smells arrive at your nose.
Act I, Scene 6 Add barley and let it brown. Critics say this is reminiscent of cooking risotto, and they're right.
Act II, Scene 1 Add the rest of the stuff. Roasted vegetables, kale, chicken broth, already cooked beans all make their debuts in Act II. Simmer for a whole hour (hope you went to the bathroom during intermission!)
Act II, Scene 2 Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a little red wine vinegar.
Act II, Scene 3 The soup! It is complete!
Act II, Scene 4 Garnish with chopped celery leaves (standing in for parsley tonight) and some drained yogurt with the garlic paste and thyme.
After an exciting and action-packed two months, we're back online. I can't believe it's only been two months since I moved away from Michigan. Things are going well and I love it here, but I miss everyone and everything a lot.
In the process of moving, job hunting, and other fun activities I've rediscovered my love for small and accomplishable projects. With Aaron's help I've organized closets, installed curtains, framed and hung pictures, and numerous other things. The week after we moved I spent painting three of our upstairs bedrooms. I was kind of under the impression that I could tape, wash, and prep on one day and then paint all three on the next day, but I grossly underestimated the time it would take and I ended up doing one room per day. Which still isn't too shabby. Colors went from dirty yellow to deep gray/blue in the bedroom, dirty lavender to dusty rose in the guest room, and this dirty white to a brighter olive green in the office.
My mom had the idea to build a desk out of an unfinished door from Lowe's and some table legs. I stained the door, and did an okay job of putting the legs on it. For about a month and a half Aaron and I shared an exercise ball as our chair until I asked his mom on a trip to Michigan if they had extra chairs lying around. Happily there were two unused chairs from Grandma D's house that had been gathering dust in the basement, so we can now both sit at the desk and spend hours gazing at the internet. The exercise ball moved to the closet-turned-auxiliary-desk space where I keep my (brand new and amazing!) sewing machine.
We've been cooking and brewing beer like nobody's business. The last of Kelly's Summer Wheat is almost gone, and we just bottled Zombie's Choice Pumpkin Ale. Right now there is chicken stock waiting to be strained and applesauce simmering in the dutch oven.
There was also a brief sojourn to Buenos Aires for Aaron's first conference, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology conference, where he gave a really good talk on mouse skin and nano receptors. I sat in the front and took pictures because I'm his #1 fan.
I also have been job hunting full-tilt, which landed me as a part time sales associate at the Seasonal Cook. You can find me making sales, talking to customers about cookware, and helping with cooking classes on some weeknights. I'm also looking for a full time development position, and though I haven't found one yet, my hopes are high.
Charlottesville is about two growing seasons south of Michigan, which excites me beyond belief. I haven't really planned out my garden for next spring but in the coming month or two I'll head out and start digging around. The guy who owns the duplex attached to ours is named Vance High and he teaches at some university in West Virginia. He walks with a cane and kind of reminds me of and oldish Dana Carvey and knows all there is to know about the plants and flowers in our yard. It's possible that I'll ask for his help to identify what's there and decide what else to plant, but it's also possible that doing so will make him think we're bff's to the max and I'm not sure I'm ready to take that step.
This is our backyard and it's pretty baller, if I do say so myself. I also have two raised beds that we moved from A2 that we can put in the sunniest spots and fill with delicious vegetables.
Anyways, I'm back and I'm happy to be in VA with Aaron and settling into routines here.
