Nothing says summer like outdoor adventures

Seriously, who's been interested in indoor sports like blogging? Not us. We've been busy

Attending beekeeping talks in West Philly:


(Did you know that harmful hive-mites get helplessly lost just a few inches away from the comb? The strategy is to overcome the problem by cross-breeding all species of bees to carry the mites outdoors and dump them.)

Enjoying birthday injera at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant:



Swimming in the Wissahickon with a friend:


Installing a green wall on Drexel's campus (guess which one of us did this):


Finding eggy evidence of happy vermicomposting worms:


Digging potatoes from the garden:


Making hot-weather suppers of delicious open-faced sandwiches and cold potato & bean salad:


Enjoying no less than 25 independent neighborhood fireworks shows from the roof of our house on the 4th:

(Why brave the crowds at the Art Museum when fireworks shows surround you?)

We've also been doing the usual berry picking, gardening, reading, cooking, and spending time with friends. And here's to more of the same.

New Rain Barrel

Just finished installing our new rain barrel this past week. I got the drum for free from work but all the PVC added up to almost $50 (youch!) anyhow, the best part of the photo is the guy in the background who is picking through the trash to get aluminum cans. Natch.

Tis the season for road trippin'

Last week we headed to the great white north, braving the frigid rain and downright cold climes of Boston for a birthday party. We packed up a our new little car and prayed that the EZPass would work smoothly on its inaugural voyage and that the car would not decide to surprise with anything (mostly breaking down). I freelanced on Saturday, so we headed out as soon as I got home/ cleaned up, around 4pm or so.

I-95 led us straight into the remnants of NYC rush hour (yes, on Saturday). We sat in traffic for about an hour until we reached the toll booth, where we zipped through with our properly functioning EZPass transponder. It was smooth sailing for a few more hours until the wintry skies opened and dumped torrents of icy rain upon us. We had the customary response to such weather: put the wipers on high speed, lean forward to the windshield, turn the radio off, and follow the tail lights of the car in front of you with 100% confidence that that driver knows where the road is. (She/he did.) We arrived in Bostonia a little after ten and slid into party mode. Good times -- and happy birthday, Maria!

On Sunday we set our sights on getting to know Mary Baker Eddy. She was the founder -- nay, discover -- of Christian Science. Yeah, not Scientology, but it's equally as fascinating. We went to the MBE Library which, along with a Hall of Ideas, houses a really big walk-in inverted stained glass globe that depicts the world as it was in 1935. See below for stock photography of the place because they don't allow mortals to take photos:


Amazing, yes? As you can see, it's pretty big and there is indeed a catwalk through the middle of it. A tour guide led us through this in a group of about 30 and instructed us to be quiet as the slightest sounds can be heard very easily. So, of course when you hear instructions like that you immediately look around for....children. And there he was, about 2 years old. The guide spoke quietly, and sure enough, we heard everything with great clarity: his voice, shuffling of feet, nervous rustling of paper, and oh yes -- "shriek! shriek! shriek! ha ha ha ha ha." A good time was had by all.

At the end the guide let us talk amongst ourselves while we looked around, and I felt like Bruce Almighty when all of a sudden Jim Carrey can hear the prayers of every person in the world all at once. Yes, 30 or so voices all sounding as if they are speaking directly into your ear...plus "shriek!"

Luckily the drive back to our balmy southern home was quick and uneventful, with mostly clear sailing home.

This weekend (aka tomorrow) we head further south to visit some folks we met in an airport in Miami about three years ago. Somehow this couple exceeds all standards of awesomeness and we're super stoked to spend some time with them. We had high hopes of visiting for 1 or 2 weeks and now it has been whittled down to one skimpy little weekend (dangit work, sometimes we hatecha!) but we'll take what we can get. Ben and Alexis, be prepared for a sleep-deprived coffee-fueled good time weekend. Waxhaw or bust!

So whatever happened to those strawberries?

Some of them ended up here:

This is our first attempt ever at making ice cream, and I was sold on making it because the recipe didn't require an ice-cream maker. Or rock salt.

Since it's delicious -- especially with homemade rhubarb pie -- I highly recommend that you try the recipe (found of course in Simply in Season).

Strawberry Ice Cream
2-3 c. strawberries, mashed
2 c. whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 1/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 c. cold water
6 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Chill all ingredients. In mixing bowl, beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer. Pour into a 9x13-inch pan and freeze until mushy, 3-4 hours. Remove from freezer and return to mixing bowl. Beat until smooth but not melted. Return to pan and freeze another 3 hours.

(Can substitute 6 peeled, crushed fresh peaches or blueberries for the strawberries and almond extract for the vanilla.)

Enjoy!

May review/June preview

 Sideyard = only place to be on long summer evenings.

 

  

Flowers are soooo 2010

May retrospect, part deux

Among the odder things that happened in May -- along with learning, courtesy of our friends' cocker spaniel, that our neighborhood sidewalks are covered with chicken bones -- was the black doll show hosted by Temple University last Saturday. I attended with a friend, and found black doll collecting to be a surprisingly thriving subculture. For a second I considered putting together a well-researched post about this, but in the end I'm not that interested. If your curiosity is piqued, though, have at it. And do tell.