I was out sailing yesterday courtesy of D_____ at work. The weather was quite blustery and gusty, which made for fun sailing.

I had a first yesterday. I was up by the mast trying to loosen a line and the boat heeled over quite suddenly. I slipped and ended up with my feet in the water, being dragged, with my arms hugging the mast while I regained my footing. It was quite a surprise to all concerned. I’m klutzy sometimes, but I’ve always managed to stay in the boat before.

The rest of the trip was fabulous. We had strong winds and the new sailors caught on quickly and seemed to have a had a great time.

Hope the weather holds and I can do it again this year; the sailing part — not the holding on to the mast for dear life part.

monkey-button

To incorrectly button or zip a shirt or sweater. Generally creates a kind of strange lopsidedness where the collar of a shirt doesn’t line up properly.

Usage: “It looks like you monkey-buttoned your shirt.”

I had never heard this phrase before this week when co-worker wore a stylish sweater which looked as if it might have been monkey-buttoned, but wasn’t. I used to have to have monkey-buttoning problems a lot as a child. I’ve mostly grown out of monkey-buttoning, but it still happens sometimes.

I checked out the 112 Eatery with a co-worker and our respective spouses. It is a tiny restaurant in the warehouse district that has been getting a lot of buzz lately.

I had the Bibb Salad and the Egg Sandwich. Our table also had a collection of sides which included the cauliflower fritters & creamed corn. The creamed corn bore zero resemblance to the gelatinous goo that comes from the can. It was light and sweet, with a buttery flavor that wouldn’t quit. Although the sauce was very buttery it somehow managed to feel relatively light at the same time which seems to break some fundamental rule of physics. I didn’t have time to ponder whether any physical laws of the universe were broken; I just wanted to eat more corn. The salad was both artfully plated and delicious. The dressing was really light but very tasty. The egg sandwich was amazing. Jeannie also had the egg sandwich and wasn’t so impressed, so your mileage may vary. It had an interesting peppery sauce which added just the right piquant while not overwhelming the eggs. It’s funny, in the end I wasn’t crazy about the expensive entrees, but the low priced items and sides were home runs in my book.

Dessert at our table was the tres leches cake and the “chocolate pot de creme”. They were both good. The pot o’ chocolate did seem a little like eating fudge right out of the Mrs. Richardson’s bottle but what is not to like about that? The desserts were very large and two people can easily split one dessert. I took 2/3 of the chocolate pot home and have snacked on it for days.

The menu had a number of small plates which could make going to eat at this great restaurant really inexpensive. I’m not in a huge hurry to go back, but you can bet that I will be back when my hankering for some creamed corn reaches a certain point. The servers tip to us was that tables which can require two weeks advance reservation can be had easily by walking in before 5:00 and after 9:00.

Bob Denver, died September 2nd, 2005. You can read his obit on the aptly named, “Blog of Death“.

I watched way too many hours of Gilligan’s Island re-runs growing up to not take notice of Bob Denver’s passing. The show is probably more like life in modern corporate America than I would have ever guessed as a child.

In case you were wondering, I had the hots for Ginger initially, but grew fond of Mary Ann later in life.

I have some friends who host a drop in event every year where you are invited to bring a dish made with potatoes. Usually I am at the cabin and unable to attend, but the stars aligned this year and the kids and I were able to make an appearance. I made potato bread from scratch. It was easy to make and tasted great. I love making bread from scratch. I need to buy some proper loaf pans so my bread looks a little better.

Just a reminder. I’m looking forward to seeing you on Sunday if you blog and attend my church. (If you don’t blog, but read or comment, you can say hi too.)

My favorite peanut butter making hippies made National Geographic recently (link potentially NWS depending on your work).

I heard about the EastWind community on MPR a few years back and made a connection to the peanut butter brand that I happen to buy. The National Geographic article in print even showed the “commie cloz” (shared clothing which includes underwear) in one of the photos. Unfortunately, that photo isn’t available on the web.

I really hope they are wearing clothes when they make the peanut butter.

Intentional communities fascinate me. I’ve always wondered what it would be like living in a place like that.

Julie’s post entitled “fragile” really resonates with me. While the tragedies of my spring and summer have been mostly at arms length, the suffering of those I know has been unrelenting. When I can no longer count the tragedies on both hands, it feels overwhelming. Sometimes the hurricane is on the gulf coast, sometimes it’s in a hospital ward of a loved one. In either case my well wishing and prayers always seems far too powerless. (The rest of this is a bit long and rambly, you might just want to skip it.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Check out this article on Banana Extinction.

I thought bananas taste different now than the ones I remember from my childhood. All this time, I thought that this difference was due to the foggy nostalgia. Now I have a better explanation.

This is exactly why I like diversity in my lawn. If creeping charlie and dandelions go extinct in other parts of the world, I’ll have a ready bio-reserve.

Since Jan asked so nicely …

Getting to Know Me

Things I plan to do before I die:

1. Hike a really long trail.
2. Found a real company with employees and everything.
3. Visit most or all the continents.
4. Take one really great landscape, still life or abstract photo.
5. Write a book.
6. Get another race car and finish a race well.
7. See my children doing well in life.

Things I can do:

1. Learn new things.
2. Fix & break stuff.
3. Swing Dance.
4. Speak in public.
5. Blog.
6. Cook.

Things I cannot do:

1. Sing on key or harmonize.
2. Care about Michael Jackson and a variety of other celebrities.
3. Clap in time to music without peeking at other people to make sure I am staying on the beat.
4. Knit.
5. Play a musical instrument.

Things that attract me to my wife:

1. She laughs at my jokes and wry side comments.
2. She is wicked smart.
3. She is a dedicated and caring mom.
4. She really values fun.
5. Her obvious physical charms.
6. Location, location, location.

Celebrity crushes:

1. Kirsten Dunst (I still don’t understand what she see in Spiderman.)
2. Natalie Portman, but only in Garden State
3. Julia Roberts
4. Sarah McLachlan
5. Sandra Bullock, Susan Sarandon, Bonnie Raitt, Patricia Clarkson, Elisabeth Moss, Katie Holmes (but only in “Pieces of April”)