Absquatulate

Sweet Sam Moon!

OMG, and I'll be getting a paycheck in three weeks: Sam Moon Trading Online.

Picture Perfect Day

A stab at summing it up:
Sleep in, eggs & bacon & coffee & paper, swimming, sailing, swimming, lobster dinner, ice cream, 2 episodes of BSG, cool dry night to sleep.

Do your research.

Tom Coates has an excellent, excellent, post regarding PR flacks, online marketing, and advertising that uses bloggers as mules for their messages: plasticbag.org: This is not a brothel....  This makes me happy that nobody knows about me or my blog.  Via Fussy.org.

Yeah yeah, another talk. Ho hum

I'm kind of ashamed that I haven't posted about this sooner. What, getting published is all ho-hum now Curro?

Found out that an extension of the presentation given at ASHA last year, wherein more data and a comparison of two kids' performance on various reading tasks are to be presented has been accepted for ASHA this year in Boston. Yay!

I think I needed the summer to be my summer, and not a paper's summer, or a presentation's summer. Just mine. Because now that it's almost over, I'm ready to get back to it. Let's get this sucker into a journal too. Bring it on.

Let's Just See What Happens

Infamous last words, yes?

This morning, after getting up obscenely early to run to a local beach to see the eclipse, only to be disappointed by the haze and the sunrise, we debated what to do with our day. Cape Cod has been gorgeous since we arrived and there were just too many options!

Well, what should we do? I don't know, what do you want to do? Well, we could go for a ride, we could go kayaking, we could drive around a bit or go swimming. Hm, kayaking would be nice... and we really want to go for a ride too. Let's do that!

The plan was... well, there was no plan really except to head south. We started out and decided to get to West Falmouth and see how we feel (and how the gimpy knee felt.) We just meandered down roads, relying on the sun to assure us that we were heading the right way, going down private roads and finding hidden beaches. Before we knew it we were beyond West Falmouth. A quick consultation with a gatekeeper at a 'closed' community we decided to push on to Falmouth for lunch.

We ate ridiculously good omlettes at a diner, strolled the street of Falmouth, made fun (and admired) art for sale in the storefronts, and made our way back. All in all, it was a 25 mile day, by far the longest ride I've done in a very long time. Thankfully karate really does up your stamina, otherwise I would have been toast. I'd have made it but it would have been more painful than it was (it hardly was, just a little tight now.) I'm tired and it's only 8pm. I'm not sure I'll make it to 9, and that's okay by me.

Pictures are forthcoming; forgot my connector cable at home, so until I return you're stuck with my witty prose and screenshots.

Outdoorswoman in the Making

At the top of Bubble Mountain in Acadia there were dozens of people milling about with babies, doggies, flocks of kids and fannypacks. Overheard while Fraz and I were taking pictures of each other at the top of our conquest:

13-or-so Year Old Girl: "Why to people do this?"
Mom: "For the views."
Girl: "Oh."
Mom: "And the solitude."

This represents approximately 20% of the total number of people on the top of the mountain.

Strawberry Tomato Gazpacho

A quick trip to Serious Eats to reference the excellent idea of using bacon mats for the mother of all BLTs led me to a recipe for strawberry and tomato gazpacho. Interesting, but I was hesitating. In the comments I found a soul who tried it in person and they liked it, even if it got a little boring. I like this idea for a soup, especially since I have about two gallons of pureed strawberries in my freezer that could use a good home. Topped with a little feta and basil and it might be a staple while it's hot out.

Sleeping With the Raccoons

I live a life of relative comfort. I live in a house, I have a bed and a car, I can provide for myself and a cat. I guess sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we enjoy things like shelter, and heat, and blankets, by absconding to someplace where you sleep outside in a tent and take cold showers. Why yes! Maine for a vacation is an excellent idea! Let us thumb our noses as sanitation and germs and roast our food on a fire.

Upon entering into the arrangement of camping all fashion sense goes completely out the window. And that's coming from a New Englander, where fashion sense is near zero. Why? Winter. That's why. As a side note, I read a fashionista blog last winter when someone asked if hose was ever okay and the fashion maven replied "no". She MUST live in LA. Gawd. I don't know why I feel compelled to point this out, except that when fashionable people were seen on trails with thoroughly impractical outfits they are snickered at. Make no mistake.

Yes so comfort and warmth trump good looks in nearly every endeavor involving outings. The only exception might be the trip to Bar Harbor because that's as close as you get to civilization and even then, it's Maine. It's practical! And comfortable. And makeup free, which is an incredibly welcome change of pace all around. On the plus: your man (should you travel with one) will grow an adorable beard.

I get itchy if I go camping and don't get enough physical activity in. It's not because I'm a terribly active person at home per se, but that if I'm sleeping in 45 degree weather at night in a sleeping bag on a wooden platform, my days should exhaust me enough to ENJOY this arrangement. My hips still have bruises from sleeping on my side (I cannot sleep any other way) so to make that tolerable I should be dog tired at the end of the day. For the most part this held but on Tuesday when we went for the "nature cruise" I didn't get a hike in, and slept HORRIBLY that night. And although I am not a morning person, I discovered that there's something about waking up with the light (or Daniel) and stepping out in the chilled air that makes me feel refreshed and alive. Not sure how that would have gone had it been raining. Luckily it never did while we were there.

On this trip I also discovered that Chili Mac (canned chili and instant mac and cheese) is one of the BEST creations ever invented. S'mores are better if a kid makes them for you in earnest and that Swedish bananas are great, despite the banana part.

We had alot of time around the campfire making Swedish bananas, watching the kids make flaming marshmallow torches rather than s'mores, and trying a few local brews. I ate turkey dogs roasted over an open fire and lots of quick cooking oatmeal and green tea. The entire group went to Rupunini's for lunch in Bar Harbor before our "nature cruise" and I enjoyed a fantastic Asian inspired pulled pork sandwich. I can't believe I never took a photo of this gorgeous sammich piled high with tender pulled pork seasoned with hoisin sauce, chinese five spice powder, and dressed with cucumbers and greens. It was delicious, as Rupunini's often is.

All in all, we had a good time. When things with the kids got a little insane with three days of outdoor adventure whipping them into a frenzy, it's cool to see everyone fall into a storytelling game around the campfire and watch adults and kids alike roar with laughter at the absurdities we came up with. I managed to get two good hikes under my belt, even if they weren't the ones I'd originally hoped for in the first place. I got to meet up with my parents on a whim and completely unexpected while they stopped at Bar Harbor on their way to Nova Scotia. I saw two bucks, a doe and her fawn, two bald eagles, a plethora of harbor seals, and porpoises playing in the 54 degree water. I saw spectacular views from two mountains on the island. I saw the Milky Way and a moonset with Mars and Venus putting on a spectacular show. I got to eat my weight in Munchkins and not feel guilty about it. I got to sleep outside and still have a shower in the morning. I got to unpack my clothes and have them smell like woodsmoke. I got to have a great time.

AFK

I'm going into self-imposed internet-less exile for a few days. I'm so going to miss you internet, giver of life, savior from boredom, and provider of Tay Zonday reimagined by Darth Vader videos.

(I wish I was making that up, but it's simply so awesome it HAS to be real. I hearts you internet tubes!)

Happy Couple

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Threatened with two very, VERY ripe cantelopes on the table something simply had to be done, if for no other reason than to get rid of the pervasive cantelope smell that had saturated the kitchen. Flipping through the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Book I found a recipe for cantelope ice cream. Brilliant! I set out making it, straining the cantelope pulp, refrigerating everything, making the sweet cream base. I mixed it up and was ready to pour it into the ice cream maker when I thought I should taste it before I put it in. Subtle, creamy, cantelope scented rather than flavored and that was okay as I'm not sure a stronger cantelope taste would work. But it was almost too cloying. It needed something to act as a counterpoint.

As the ice cream was churning I tossed in a handfull of frozen blueberries into the few tablespoons of ice cream mix I couldn't fit into the churner. A sip and a bite, and I found what I was looking for: blueberries! The recipes calls for the addition of the cantelope pulp to the ice cream just before it's finished. Instead I cut the cantelope pulp with 3/4 c. of frozen blueberries. I'm happy to say that the result is delicious! Creamy, fruity, smooth and a great foil for blueberry pie. It's a different twist on plain old vanilla that you aren't expecting. And I got to put more of those berries to good use and the cantelope didn't face a horrible fermenting death on the counter. In the future: figure out how to do a blueberry swirl and add more cantelope pulp at the end to boost the flavor a little.

And a la mode on the blueberry pie? Delicious! A quiet, yet different pairing that is a nice change of pace from the usual vanilla. Single Guy Chef, this is the little thing I had in the works! From now on I think I'll "deconstruct" the pie first, add the ice cream, and serve the crust end as a cookie on the side or crumbled on top. It's a little unwieldy in a martini glass.

Non-Non-Compete

After talking with a small business owner about some of the non-compete disclosures he's been forced to read, I was astounded by the fact that I no longer work in an industry where there are such things. As a matter of fact, transparency, open-source, and free movement of information is the rule, not the exception. And while it certainly can be used as one reason why there's no money in what I do (other reasons include that there are no pills to cure my clients and that you can't see what I work on) it is definitely refreshing and one of the many things I love about this field.

That isn't to say there aren't the business entrepreneurs out there (see any of the voice treatment protocols or even the oral-motor treatment plans, but don't get me started on O-M). They do exist and there are many companies who cater to our profession. But in the end it's the movement of information from one therapist to the next that makes us all better.

Oven Roasted Dish of Things

I can't say the recipe was all that inspired, but I do love this photo! More details to be found at Flickr, but in short for the click-phobic: needed more tomatoes!

Bliss

Alright kids, I went and did it and made homemade blueberry pie. I also have one batch of blueberry jam under my belt and should have another done today too as these blueberries are on their last legs. Or, I will freeze them all I suppose.

I can't wait to crack into a fresh pint of vanilla ice cream tonight (didn't have time to make homemade ice cream, alas.)

Blueberries

I'm going to be busy the next day or two. On the menu: blueberry pancakes, blueberry cobbler, blueberry jam, blueberry pie, blueberry soup, blueberry ice cream, cantelope ice cream (what? I have three cantelopes and a whole watermelon to process before the end of the week! Cantelope ice cream it is!)

You can see photos from the trip to Heath, Massachusetts on my Flickr set: "The Great Blueberry Caper of Naught Seven".

Cydwoq

If the elves of Mirkwood lived in Burbank, they would be making Cydwoq shoes.

(It must be the weather, rainy and 60degreesF always make me yearn for another LOTR reading/viewing.)

Human Again

The weather has broken, finally. For the first time in over a week I feel alert, rather than dogged by the sloth-like pace that one must undertake in 95 degree heat with 80% humidity. I can actually think about getting on my bike without wanting to scream and thrust my sunburned-yet-still-pasty-white-middled-self into the pond.

So, yeah! I went to the Newport Folk Festival! It was beautiful, it was sunny, and the acts were all good. I don't think I've ever seen a more mellow crowd at a festival; I suppose that isn't entirely to be unexpected however. I mean, EmmyLou Harris sings alot of songs of heartache and loneliness. It's bound to make you reflective.

I wish there were some more acts there however that had a more traditional folk/bluegrass feel. Alejandro Escavedo, while okay and I'm certain a fine musician, was too rock for the festival. Where was Patty Griffin? Leo Kottke? Chris Smither? William Elliott Whitmore? I think about them performing at a venue like that and get all giddy! They would be perfect; they would fit in nicely; they would have a new following. In particular Leo Kottke, whom I deem as one of the finest musicians I have had the honor of seeing in concert. Chris Smither would also be a delight as his writing is some of the best you can come across. How can you deny a guy that has been described by Bonnie Raitt as "my Eric Clapton"? Right.

So I wish there were more performers there. That is, with the exception of the unbelievably good Carolina Chocolate Drops (which if you ever get the chance to see you absolutely MUST), most of the acts were perfectly fine but not terribly engaging. I want to learn something from the musician, not just hear their cd. I can save (or rather, my mom could save :) $65 and do that at home where the drinks are free.

But that's a minor problem. Because how can you hate spending a day outside on Newport Harbor watching the sailboats, tankers, and seagulls? You can't, even if they occasionally ran out of toilet paper in the (unusually clean) port-a-johns.

Xtian and Grace

xtian and grace
Originally uploaded by absquatulate.

Visiting the new baby was one of the many things I did this weekend. But, it'll have to wait since I just got home from a karate training that nearly left me passed out on the floor (thanks sweltering heat and unventilated gymnasium!) More tomorrow after I recover from a reckless weekend of pizza with old college chums, new babies, folk festivals, and clam cakes.

Nora's mom, scoutin' for Vs

Sweet Moses, mimi smartypants, this is brilliant:

"Are you guys virgins?" They [a group of underaged boys at a local show] looked collectively offended and said no, so I said, "That's too bad, I'm kind of on a scavenger hunt." I really don't know where that came from but they ended up going away, so THE END.

How Massachusetts are you?

Not too bad, seeings how I've only lived here for three years (18 years in RI does help though. I should get extra points for having enjoyed cabinets rather than frappes. )

You Are 68% Massachusetts

You're pretty Massachusetts, but you're starting to slip. Go eat a bulky roll and flip off a New Yorker.

How Massachusetts Are You?