Fall Fun: Halloween!!

What a great Halloween weekend!

Friday night was a party for kids at Mama's office, which we realized we've been attending since they were about 2 years old!  No more strollers for us.  In fact, they were some of the oldest kids there (though, we didn't see most of the revelers, staying in Mama's area.)  They got candy, played some games, and, best of all, got to see where Mama works and meet several of her friends.  And admire their toy collection!  Yep, Nerf guns, Star Wars Legos, balance boards, and puzzles.  Work hard, play hard.  We rounded off the evening with some Israeli food, including a delicious vegetarian chopped "liver" and a surprising Sesame halvah ice cream.

SATURDAY!!!  The countdown for trick-or-treating began not long after ice skating and kung fu.  It was so hard to wait for dusk.  In fact, we didn't manage to wait that long.  By 2:00, we were making additions to their candy bags, adding costumes we hadn't put on.  And this time, they drew the pictures themselves, adding a Tri-force symbol for Link and an Avengers symbol for Black Widow for 2015.  Just growing up . . .



But not too grown up not to be impatient for trick-or-treating to begin.  And so, after obligatory photos, we made our traditional visits to some previous teachers, Mrs S (preschool) and Mrs K (1st and 2nd), who welcome us so warmly.  I wonder if I came up with this great ritual all those years ago so that we could start the holiday earlier!

When we got home, we met up with our super, secret, surprise guest--Beloved Babysitter!!  She was in town from her big life in the city and had time to come over and even take them trick-or-treating for a bit.  They went to a new street, where her brother lives, and got lots of candy.  So special to have her join us after all of these years.  She's like that cool cousin or older sister or something.  They just beamed to see her.

Then, as she left for her own revels, the kids went trick-or-treating by themselves, ALL ALONE!  Okay, sure, we made sure they stayed in our neighborhood area AND we gave them walkie-talkies to keep in touch.  Still, big step.  And they were so excited and later so proud to have been allowed to do it.  They walked so much, for so long, that they didn't even do the last houses in the cul-de-sac near us.  Their feet hurt and they had enough candy.  Wow.  (Meanwhile, Mama joined me in passing out candy to all the visitors--I love to pass out the candy!  No particular common theme this year, not even Zombies.  A few princesses, but not a particular one.  It was kinda all over this year.  I'd say we had 50+ trick-or-treaters, some of them not from our little area, which is fine with me.  And only a handful or two of teenagers; I give handfuls of candy to all, costume or no, young and old.  I loved to trick-or-treat so who am I to judge?)

They did the traditional sorting--and passing along of nut candies to us (yay, Baby Ruth, Almond Joy, Snickers, Mr. Goodbar, Butterfinger, peanut M&Ms, and Reese's peanut butter cups!!)--and of course ate some for themselves.  Sis hoarded the plain Hershey bars, Twix, and Tootsie Rolls, while Bud kept hold of the Lifesaver gummies, Raisinettes, and Twizzlers.

We ordered pizza and watched the new "Doctor Who," glad to see the return of Osgood (I'm totally going to cosplay as Osgood next year!  As a BTS segment noted, that means I'd be cosplaying a cosplayer!)

Another great part?  We got to "fall back" and, for the first time in a decade, everyone understood the whole "sleeping in" part!!!

Just another great Halloween.

Doctor Who Weekend

Doctor Who has started again!  And we were there Saturday night, at 9 pm, when it started.  It was a great episode, though we couldn't pick up on all the classic Who references (we hadn't seen the Fourth Doctor episode on which it piggybacked.)  Missy came back, Clara died again, and there were Daleks.  And the Doctor played guitar!  We did notice that it was shot in something of a retro style, to recall the 1970s show.

Before the show started, we had a veritable feast of steak and ale pie, bangers and baked potatoes, and orange marmalade tea sandwiches, plus tea, of course, and Jelly Babies!  Sis also made Crispy Chicken Wings and Bud made his steamed mussels again.  It sounds like a lot--it was!--but we only made a little bit of each one.

On Sunday, we continued the chicken wings theme, with lunch of teriyaki wings, after church and then watched some of that aforementioned Fourth Doctor arc, which aired Sunday morning on BBC America.  We haven't finished the three-hour show yet, but will make a point of it before this Saturday's continuation of "Doctor Who."

I don't think we'll be eating more wings, though.

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Crispy Chicken Wings

• 4 lb/ 2 kg chicken wings, cut into wingettes and drumettes (tips discarded)
• 2 tbsp baking powder 
• ¾ tsp salt
• Oil spray
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1. If you are organised enough, uncover the chicken wings and leave them in the fridge for a few hours to dry out. Otherwise, use a paper towel to pat the wings dry.
2. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions.
3. Preheat oven to 250F/120C.
4. Line a baking tray with foil, then place a rack (like a cooling rack) on the foil. Spray the rack with oil spray.
5. Place wings in a large bowl or in a ziplock bag. Add the baking powder and salt, then toss to coat evenly.
6. Place the wings on the baking tray in a single layer with the skin side up. They should just fit snugly. They will shrink when they cook because the fat renders out so don't worry if they look too snug.
7. Place wings on the lower middle oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Move wings up to the upper middle rack and increase the oven temperature to 425F/220C. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through.
9. Remove baking tray from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes.
10. Toss wings in sauce of choice (or serve it on the side to dip / drizzle on the wings), then serve.

from Cook's Illustrated via Recipe Tin Eats

TGITh

What is it about weeks that begin with a holiday dragging on so long?

I've thought it was later than it was for days.

But now it's Thursday night which is as good as Friday for me, especially because I don't have any errands or appointments tomorrow beyond socializing with friends and visiting my hospice patient. And the temperatures will be a little lower tomorrow--today got up to 85F which is 10+ degrees  above normal--and it will be even cooler after Saturday.

This weekend is fairly relaxed for us.  Regular Saturday morning lessons and then church on Sunday (I'm not teaching til next week), which means time for crocheting, movies (we're on a Muppet kick--sang through the original Muppet Movie and laughed through Muppets Most Wanted.   We thought of you, Aunt Banana, and I recalled your love of many things Muppet, like your Miss Piggy puppet and how you'd watch the Animal scene over and over), archery (Mama bought a lower draw-weight bow so I can pull it back; my previous 28 lb-draw was too heavy for me now), maybe cooking lessons for the kids (Bud has asked for clam chowder), perhaps some family games (current favorites:  Munchkin Panic, Castellan, Forbidden Island, and Risk) . . . .  

AND  the season premiere of "Doctor Who!!!!!"   We'll watch it Saturday night, after enjoying a large repast of British-inspired food.  Steak and ale pie, Welsh rarebit, finger sandwiches, Jammie Dodgers, shortbread, and scones with jam.  And tea, of course; maybe Shandy.  But no fish fingers and custard!  (Favorite of the 11th doctor.)  We've been waiting since Christmas.

Another First Day

The kids are off for the first day of fifth grade.  It was a pretty calm event, all things considered, but, then, I calculate that it is our eighth first day of school.  We had our usual special poster, which this year is written in Gallifreyan from "Doctor Who"; last year's Elvish was very popular.  We also had our traditional Schultute, which are German cones given on the first day with goodies inside (a little candy, some tickets for screen time)--I started this their first year of pre-school, after seeing it in a magazine; they even said a couple of days ago that they hoped they were getting their usual cornucopia.  Mama made special omelets, to order, with bell peppers for Bud, ham for Sis.  The kids were so giddy about the first day that they were outside before the middle school bus left!  This gave us plenty of time for the traditional photos as we waited for the bus.  Soon our usual bus mates arrived; we'll have one more afternoon bus mate, the new kindergartener across the street.  While we stood there with our friends, a doe and her two fawns walked down the street and later through our yard.  So close we could even see their spots.  Quite a sight! 

The house is now very quiet.  The cats don't quite know what to do with themselves, though they'll figure it out quickly.  I have a full's day worth of things to catch up on, maybe even a few days!  Girl Scout paperwork, delayed doctor's appointments (just the usual annual stuff), some church RE work, an event at the historic house.  But for right now, I'm drinking rose tea out of my Jane Austen mug while blogging and watching "Midsomer Murders."

And it's so quiet.

Houston for the Holidays

Owing to the length of our trip and the time in which I currently have to write about it, this will be (relatively) brief.

Houston

• Pappadeux's--as we walked through the terminal of IAH to baggage claim, Bud spotted sushi--"let's eat there!"  No way we're letting him eat sushi at the airport, especially because we knew we'd be going to Pappadeux's, the Cajun seafood place, for lunch!  Bud got Alaskan King Crab legs and actually fell asleep at the table before they arrived (have I mentioned that we were up at 3:30 EST?)!  But he awoke when they were placed before him and proceeded to scarf them down, with technical assistance from Mama.  And would you believe that both kids tried fried alligator??  Tastes like chicken, they said.  I was especially impressed by Sis's bravado; she isn't always so sure of new food.  And I began my hiatus from vegetarianism with some cornmeal-fried catfish which I dipped in ketchup!
• Christmas Eve, our first night in Houston, was spent doing the things my family always did, mainly looking at Christmas lights while singing carols and drinking egg nog.  The kids couldn't get over all of the lights and plywood cut-out decorations and luminaries lining the streets.  It was extra-special to me that we were all singing Christmas carols, which was always my favorite part of Christmas Eve.  We also had shrimp remoulade, another family tradition, which Bud and Mama especially enjoyed.  I had some tamales, a Texas tradition but not so much a family one except occasionally.
  
  
  
  
• The kids woke us up at 7 a.m.--luckily that was CST not EST!  We started by reading the Christmas story, as told in Luke, which was always the most incongruous part of our secular celebration and even more secular family.  Still, I found it with Google (there not being a Bible in the house) and read the requisite parts (one year, when I was in college, I read it in ancient Greek and Aunt Banana read it in Latin!)  And then we did presents, one at a time, which gets easier with each passing year.  Sis especially loved her sterling silver bunny necklace (with bling bead) in the recognizable James Avery bag from Gommie--later, she said she didn't need to see a real bunny at the cabin in the woods because she had her own!  I got more lovely lotions and scarves and Mama liked her Art of Totoro book.  Bud got a boomerang, which he would practice later.
  
• Our traditional breakfast included broiled til crunchy corned beef hash and poached eggs (we scrambled the ones for the kids.)

And then, in a fit of mad inspiration, Gommie decided we should pack up then and there 24 hours after we arrived, and head to the cabin in the woods, Wildwood (named after the street where Pop grew up.)  I don't think I have ever traveled on Christmas Day before and was shocked at a). the number of places open and b). the number of people out and about.  But because of this, we could stop at my favorite place, Buc-ee's!  We got iced tea, a few souvenirs, some snacks for the cabin including "beaver nuggets" (kinda like that old Sugar Smacks cereal), and a nice clean restroom break.

We had lunch at nearby Woody's Barbecue, which was crawling with customers.  Chopped beef, brisket, sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, blackberry cobbler, and iced tea.  They didn't have bacon-wrapped quail, as listed on the menu so we went back another day and brought home four little ones--Bud ate them all!

We also purchased fireworks, which we shot off a few nights later.  No Roman candles like the one that blew up in Pop's hand when I was the kiddos' age, but a few bottle rockets, sparklers, and fountains, which looked great against the pitch black night sky.

Then it was off the black top, then off the County Road, then off the GPS, as we headed into the bottomlands beloved by Pop, who has always liked playing in the mud.  

Wildwood--our days in the woods rather blur together so this is not in any particular order.

• Beavers.  Pop spends a lot of time angering the beavers.  And the kids helped!  See, Pop has this big 12-acre pond in his woods, with a dam he can raise or lower to adjust the water level for his beloved ducks.  See, Pop, who used to hunt, loves all kinds of ducks as much as Sis loves bunnies and Bud loves penguins.  Especially wood ducks.  And the pond, perhaps the whole property, is for the ducks and for him to watch the ducks.  But the beavers don't like the water to move through the dam and will block it up every time they hear it.  At night, the beavers clog the pipes with mud and brush; during the day, Pop shovels it away.  And the kids loved helping. On the third night, Pop let the beavers win, since the water was at a good level.  But each night he did affix his Go Pro camera to the dam to record the beavers building--he'd caught them on film once before but not during our visit.  I did, however, see one swimming in the pond when we went to fetch the camera one evening.
  
• The kids loved going on walks with Gommie all around the property.  They didn't ever spot a bunny, hence Sis's comment about her necklace, but they did find 5 empty turtle shells, which they dutifully carted back to the cabin to show us (at which point we made them scrub their hands!)  It was actually wildlife-light this trip:  no deer, no hogs.  But we did hear an owl (though not while we were owling the first night) and see a hawk (actually screaming at and chasing away the buzzards.)
  
• It was very damp while we were at Wildwood, with rain and mist (indeed, I'm not sure we saw sun or sky in Texas during our whole visit), but Pop did take the kids out on the pond in the canoe twice.  He said they polled it more than rowed, because of the lowered pond level.  See bullet point on beavers!
  
  
• At one point we had three fires going:  one in the outdoor fire ring, one in the cabin fireplace, and one in the smoker for hamburger lunch.  Usually, though, it was just the first two.  And we loved poking and feeding the fire.  Sis liked us to sprinkle Rutland's magic dust on the fire to make it glow blue, green, and purple.  I remember similar briquettes when I was a kiddo.  On our last night, we even sat around singing camp songs.  I wouldn't call my birth family a musical one, but we do like to sing.
  
• One of those rainy mornings, we made our own cookie recipes, using my 1001 Cookie Recipe from Domino Sugar.  I'd made the dough in Houston before we left and picked up some add-ins when Mama and I went shopping at the (very) local store.  I made an orange-chocolate fudge ball.  Sis made chocolate chip cookies.  Bud made strawberry jam thumbprints (Pop's favorite.) Mama made two cookies, both with ingredients from a gift basket Gommie had--chocolate pistachio toffee cookies and fruit-and-nut rounds.  We also made a s'mores version with crushed graham crackers, milk chocolate, and marshmallows on top, but no one really liked that one.  It was all good fun and a tasty treat.  We left several in the freezer for Pop and Gommie to eat later.
  
• One of the interesting features of Pop's cabin is the outdoor shower spigot, with hot and cold running water.  Yep, you can shower au naturel right there in nature (there are no walls or curtains.)  It's an odd feeling to stand in hot soapy water in a 40-something degree chill.  Only some of us--Pop, Gommie, Bud, and I--liked it.  
• And Sis and Mom, who are not on that shower list, both tried shooting Pop's .22 gauge rifle (a Ruger.)   I bet you never thought to see that here on this blog?!!  Gommie had mentioned that Pop thought they might like it and did we have any objections.  Actually, I didn't.  In fact, knowledge is power and I'd rather them know about guns and respect them  . . . so that they can run the hell away if a friend ever pulls one out to "play" with.  In our minds, there's not much point in forbidding them completely; target practice is harmless.  That's not to say I'm a believer in "guns don't kill people; people do" (I don't even like recreational hunting.)  I believe strongly in gun control.  But I don't believe in gun abolition--well, I'd love that, but there's no point wishing for the impossible.  So, we let Sis give it a try but, as it was an adult gun, she couldn't really aim.  Mama, on the other hand, could--and did, making all her shots.  And she'd never handled a gun before.  (I remember shooting at targets at a Ducks Unlimited family picnic one time, maybe also at Deer Camp.  I don't like the way the guns kick.)  Bud listened to the safety lesson about never point it at anything you don't want to shoot and this is the safety mechanism and this is how it works, but he stayed inside otherwise.  I prefer archery and so also passed.
• We always eat well in Texas, and the cabin is no exception.  We even had our Christmas dinner there:  prime rib, scalloped potatoes, asparagus.  Sis loved the cheesy scalloped potatoes.  Later, we'd have baked ham, hamburgers, hot dogs, pinto beans, ham and eggs, and, of course, s'mores.  And those cookies.
  
• Surprisingly, Pop has Direct TV in the woods (but no cell coverage!)  So we got to tape and later watch the Doctor Who Christmas special.  All we can say, because of SPOILERS, is "MOFFAT!!!", the cry of fans everywhere.  But we loved it and are glad about the very end.

After three rainy nights in the woods, we headed back to Houston on Sunday.

Houston Again

• We got back to Houston, through rainy weather, around midday and soon Aunt Banana and Uncle Soccer arrived with Cousins Hungry.  Yay!!!   Sis and Bud really liked having cousins and Sis especially took to girl Cousin Hungry, who liked her back.  Baby Hungry was sweet and wiggly--and he might even be a little bit ginger!
• With three kids old enough to know what was up, we opened presents first.  Cousin Hungry was enthusiastic. Later, all three helped Aunt and Uncle open things.  The kids especially liked the karaoke microphone Cousin brought with her, her foamy puzzle mat which was great for Twister and dancing, and the Duplo food sets we got her, great for tea parties and playing hotel.
• Afterwards, we went to Pappasito's Mexican Cantina (yep, same family, the Pappas, own it)--Bud loved the ceviche; most of us inhaled queso and salsa and guacamole.  Besides my Tex Mex cheese enchilada combo with taco, rice, and refrieds, I really liked the hibiscus lemonade with its cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove simple syrup.  Kinda like cold mulled lemonade.  I think I'll give making it a try.  
• And Aunt Banana had this great pound cake a la Paula Deen that she made.  Yum!  (Is this the recipe, Banana?)
• The adult children stayed up talking that first night, which was lovely, especially because a). I was a tense, PMS-y, tired, headachy grumpy butt the next day (sorry, Aunt B) and b). Mama and I weren't there the next evening.  

Late that afternoon, Mama and I headed down to see Aunt Sis, who was in the hospital.  Only, the next morning when we arrived at the hospital, we didn't find her there.  After much concern (and a very unhelpful receptionist), we learned from a kind nurse that Aunt Sis had been released back to her nursing home.  So we headed there.

Corpus Christi/Rockport

• It's a long drive down to Aunt Sis's part of the world, four hours give or take all the stops we like to make at Buc-ee's, Whataburger, local barbecue places (for my favorite chopped beef, potato salad, pinto beans, banana pudding, Tex-Mex chocolate cake, and the apricot kolaches that Sis had been craving since we booked our ticket to Texas!), even Target (clean bathrooms and we always need something for the road.) 
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• We saw a few Red-shouldered hawks on our trip to the coast and a diving Cooper's Hawk, I think Pop said it probably was.  Also buzzards, pelicans, egrets, and whooping cranes.
• We stayed at the Corpus Christi Omni, getting a $600 room for $100--on the 16th floor with a few of the harbor from the private balcony.  Lovely.  And tea was delivered to the room in the morning.  It was a peaceful respite from the whirlwind trip and drive to look at that view by night and morning.
• We arrived at the nursing home before my uncle did that morning and, for a bit, it looked like the visit might be challenging:  Aunt Sis didn't know who I was.  She was busy looking for my uncle.  But then she recognized us and remembered the kids, even though they weren't with us.  And we had a lovely visit.  Especially considering that she had been in the hospital the day before for several days.  Her eyes were bright and she had an appetite; though, she did have pain when people moved her leg or back, for getting dressed or in her wheelchair.  We gave her the presents we brought--an artistic throw pillow painted with different colorful cats, a Van Gogh calendar, an English pub calendar (yes, two calendars--they brighten dreary walls), and artsy socks with Botticelli's Venus (in honor of her favorite artist, whose work we both saw on separate visits to Florence, my trip inspired by hers) and Van Gogh's sunflowers.  She loved looking at all the images, especially the cat pillow and Van Gogh calendar.  She even had me put her socks on.  But she didn't quite remember the artists, though she said she knew the images were familiar.  Uncle arrived with tipsy balls for Mama and me, one of my holiday favorites from my grandmother's recipe.  We had two books for him--on cats and also the English language, which Mama had enjoyed on tape this year.  We all chatted about the presents, trips to Italy and England and Connecticut, the kids (whom they both praised us for raising the way we were) and their activities (thank heavens for smartphones with their videos and photos, which we proudly showed off), the Christmas cards on the wall including ours, even sign language, which she says she has forgotten.  The only time she just seemed sad was when we mentioned her youngest son; both times her eyes dimmed and Uncle patted her sympathetically, for he lives far away as a monk in France.  When she grew tired, we said we'd let her rest while we fetched our lunch and would come back to say goodbye; if she was asleep, no worries.  But after our lunch, she was bright eyed again and so Uncle got her into her wheelchair and we went to the cafeteria!  This for a woman whom we thought might be at death's door.  She sat at lunch and looked around, recognized people, ate her meal steadily with her own fork and drank from her glass unassisted, all the while talking and smiling.  For more than an hour!!!  I really couldn't believe it and soaked it all in.  But soon lunch was over and we knew she'd need a nap.  We took a few photos and kissed and hugged and repeated all of our "love yous" and then we left.  I walked away well only because they couldn't see me crying.  We learned today that she took a turn for the worse that evening and my uncle has enrolled her in hospice.  Our last visit, as I'm sure it was, was a real gift.

While we were on the coast, Gommie and Pop had major trouble in Houston:  a pipe under their driveway gave out and backed sewage up on their first floor, in tubs and sinks.  Ugh.  The repair would cost a fortune and the house was now without water.  They had showered at dear Granny Q's and we moved to a hotel when we got back.

Houston Again

• Mel's--almost as soon as we arrived home, later than expected because of our nice long visit, we all headed to Mel's for dinner.  Chicken fried steak!!!  Mashed potatoes.  Cream gravy.  Rolls.  Green beans.  Black-eyed peas.  Peach cobbler.  Blackberry cobbler.  And Bud had a big burger.  But not as big as the Mega Mel's, which has pounds and pounds of meat and cheese.  We saw two people order them but didn't stay long enough to see if they finished.
• The next day was our last day in Houston.  We started it by heading to See Granny Q's husband in his new memory care facility.  While there, the kiddos played some of their Christmas songs on the baby grand.  I even played two of mine!  Gommie enjoyed it and the kids didn't mind showing off.  
• To pass time, we went to one of those indoor rec places.  We whiled away the afternoon with bumper cars, air hockey, skeeball, etc.  Every now and again, the kiddos would remember it was our last day and get sad and then they'd go ride another simulator.  Keeping busy was the key.
  
• So we headed to the art store and got drawing supplies.  We had introduced Gommie to Zentangling aka doodling when we were at the cabin, so we got her some pens and a sketch book.  We spent the afternoon at the hotel drawing and watching football.  I started crocheting on a blanket for Gommie using yarn she chose, a pretty hydrangea-like combo of blues, lilacs, and greens called sea glass stripes. 
  
• We had dinner at Pappadeux's again but it didn't go that well.  Bud didn't feel well, Sis's alligator was too spicy, and Mama and I kept hopping up to help Bud (a combo of drainage and stress/panic; a call to Dr. Goo helped.)  I liked my fried catfish though.  And my hibiscus lemonade.
• We drew some more and watched football, finally turning in to prep for our not-quite-as-early morning flight.  Our trip to Texas was over.  And there were fireworks all New Year's Eve to send us off.

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Coming soon:  recipes for pound cake, tipsy balls, cookies, scalloped potatoes.

Sing Me a River

It's hard to explain Comic Con if you don't already know what it is.  And judging by recent conversations, many people I know don't.  The easiest way to describe it is as a geek convention.  Because, while it started as a comic book fans' gathering, it now encompasses many fandoms:  science fiction (Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, etc.), fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Princess Bride, Disney, etc.), anime (Miyazaki, Sailor Moon, Pokemon), other cartoons (TMNT, My Little Pony, etc.), video/computer games (Zelda, World of Warcraft, Dragon Ball Z, etc.) and other popular culture (Sherlock and Elementary, etc etc etc.)  Plus, of course, all the comic book superheroes, like Batman, Superman, and the like.

You can see that we firmly fall into several of the fandoms and so we were excited to attend the convention.  We weren't planning on going to any of the panels--interviews and discussions with the creative teams behind the above, including actors, artists, writers, designers, etc.--because they are much in demand with long lines waiting to enter.

But we did sign up for one photo session:  the kids had their picture taken with River Song of Doctor Who, aka Alex Kingston (whom you probably know from her years on ER.)  They were over the moon!  We hung back while they went up to her and told her she was awesome.  And she said they were awesome back!  Sis even noted later that the actress was wearing an outfit--with a map of London, we think--that River would have worn.  So, even though the encounter lasted less than a minute, I think the memory will last a lifetime.   Mama and I opted out of the photo, wanting it to be the kids' moment, though we like Kingston a lot.  We try to remind the kids that actors are just doing a job--that the characters aren't them, that they are real people with positive characteristics and also flaws, that they are paid to do what they do; we don't want the line between fiction and reality to blur, for them to think they "know" the actors.  Still I get it.  I loved Princess Leia and by extension Carrie Fisher and would've gone nuts if I'd met her.  We connect with characters in movies and tv and therefore with the actors who play them.  We are touched by them and we think the actors are special; we want to meet them to express how much they and their characters mean to us and also to feel special ourselves by connecting even briefly with them.  And that's fine when you're nine years old, I think, but perhaps a little odd when taken to extremes by adults.  Sure, I can fangirl on my own quite a bit, but I'm not sure I'd feel right actually acting on it. . . which is why we didn't go to Gillian Anderson's autograph sessions or the photo session with the cast of Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  Besides, it doesn't always pay to meet an ideal.  But it certainly worked for the kids, and us by extension, who watched Doctor Who tonight and kept repeating, "we met her!"  Thank you, Ms. Kingston!

We spent the rest of the day wandering, shopping (truly I expected better shopping), interacting with other fans, and admiring all the costumes.  I didn't know most of the computer games or anime, but I noticed lots of Doctor Who costumes.  Also Star Trek and Star Wars.  One of the best was a Stormtrooper "on vacation" in a Hawaiian shirt!  Also, Princess Leia, a great Xena, a man wearing a homemade cardboard Millennium Falcon, a minion, and so many others.  The kids posed with lookalikes of Gandalf, a Dalek, Smaug the dragon, the penguins of Madagascar, and others.  Because it was family day, there was no cleavage and only one very obvious Brazilian wax.  Interestingly, we saw no brutish behavior, even with alcohol on premises.  Very well behaved, our geeks.  We got a few things, t-shirts mainly, and mainly just walked around for 7 hours.

Thankfully, Mama had done lots of research about surviving Comic Con, so we knew to:

• Bring our own food--deli meats, cheeses, bread, chips, cookies--so as not to stand in line for expensive junk;
• Bring our own water bottles to refill at the water fountains (see above);
• Not carry anything extraneous because the day is long and things can get lost;
• Bring a bag to put purchases and freebies in.

We were tired, but we had a great time.  I think we'd definitely go again, maybe with some panels this time.  And maybe by then, we'll have added a few more fandoms to our list . . .but I doubt it will ever match the excitement of our first Con.  And meeting River Song!!!

Summer Fun: Huzzah!

Mama and I celebrated our 17th anniversary this weekend--and in high style, by going to the NY Renaissance Festival.  This was particularly meaningful because Mama and I had one of our earliest outings to the faire the summer we met 20 years ago (I've written about my love affair with fairs here.)  With Goo in tow!  And he was the age then that the kiddos are now.  If you'd told me then that 20 years later, Mama and I would re-visit the fair with our twins, with a life in the CT suburbs and be LEGALLY married, I never would have believed it.   It was a wonderful weekend (save one thing I'll get to.)

Costumes:  We always like to dress up for the Ren fest.  And this year the kids also got into the act.  Sis wore a cloak, sword, and carried a bow (Bud's, from Texas), with a special LOTR leaf pendant we purchased for her and plastic attachable elf ears, for she is Legolas, the elf archer.  Bud is Frodo, with his colonial vest, a cloak, the One Ring on a silver chain, and his little silver dagger that he was handed during the parade at the Ren Fest in Texas.  He's used it in a lot of play these last 5 years.  Mama and I were just general shire folk, me in a vest and skirt, Mama in a vest and jeans.  We added to our costumes while we were there, half the fun of the festival.  I got a flower garland, along with a belt and pouch.  Mama got leather shoulder armor called a paldron.  Bud got a belt and sword, plus real halfling ears.  Sis added archer gauntlets.  We were quite the well-dressed crew.   It certainly makes the festival more fun.  And we got things we can wear again for other faires, for Halloween, even for Comic Con.  (Speaking of the latter, we saw several Doctors--three Tenth and one Fourth, all in costume!  The first Ten was the best, English accent and all, and posed gamely for a picture with the kids.)

Food:  Snacking always plays a huge part in the faire experience and we like to eat.  We had the requisite huge turkey leg and funnel cakes, of course.  We also really liked the fried macaroni and cheese in little triangles on a stick.  Mama and I enjoyed the florentine quesadilla, with spinach, feta, mozzarella, and pesto; we also liked the little doughnuts glazed in orange juice and apple cider.  Bud liked the cherry limeade, while I had a yummy orange float, like an Orange Julius only less chemically--just orange juice, ice, and vanilla ice cream.

Shows and Activities:  Between snacks, we wandered the faire and enjoyed all the entertainment.  My favorite, by far, was the archery.  I'm not great at it, even as a Level 1 instructor, but I enjoy it; Mama and the kids do, too.  We all even managed to hit near the center of the targets.  We watched two chess games--somewhat like wizard chess, with human "pieces" fighting for the spots--something I keenly remember from 20 years ago.  Sis really liked the sparring.  She also liked the horses in the joust.  We all laughed heartily at the Vixens En Garde-version of Hamlet, with a little Star Wars thrown in for fun.  And of course, we saw the Birds of Prey show, with the Master Falconer showing off his Andean Condor, Black Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, and Harris Hawk.  The show was extra-special after our own English falconry experience where we flew our own vultures and Gyr-falcon.  On our own, we had a few sword fights with all of our weapons.  We didn't stop for too many musicians (there actually weren't too many), though we danced to the drums of Wolgemut at the end of the first day.

Which brings me to the sad bit:  Bud's special silver-colored dagger went missing at some point in the last hour of our two-day visit.  We don't know where--and he and Mama searched high and low--and we don't hold out hope that it will be found.  I was very sad, not only because he was very sad, but also because it was such a big part of his childhood these last five years.  Sure, that probably means we shouldn't have taken it--I'm not sure I realized how attached I was to it until after the fact, though I knew he was--or at least tied it to him; lots of guilt to go with the sadness because I didn't notice that he'd set it down.  Hindsight is 20-20.  And up to that point, two whole days, he'd kept track of it.  But then it was gone . . . as Ar-Ma recently said about Gong's shoes and expensive new orthotics stolen from a local temple while they were praying, somebody else needed them more than he did and it was time for them to move on (sorta like a less-evil version of the One Ring, I suppose.)  That wasn't much comfort, though.  But as FB often reminds us about Mr. Rogers's "look for the helpers," we were amazed at the kindness of strangers.  The first let Mama and Bud back into the faire to search for the dagger, which we only found missing after we got to the car, even though they hadn't gotten their hands stamped.  Several shop owners tried to help them, until the last, seeing how upset Bud was, walked them over to her boyfriend's stall where they gave him, without accepting payment, a special as yet unpainted Elvish blade.  On the walk back to the car, he apparently planned how he would decorate it with runes and Celtic knots.

Shopping:  Before the dagger incident, we'd picked up a few other things.  The kids had a budget, but I'm the one who did most of the shopping.  I always favor candles and lotions--and I actually got a candle that melts into lotion!!  The other candle is one of those multi-dip/multi-colored ones that are then carved to reveal the layers--a staple of 70s living rooms, if I recall correctly; Sis chose a pink and purple one with little rainbow layers.  We also really enjoyed experimenting at Nixi Stix, with professional grade juggling balls, pins, dancing wands, dancing sticks, and these Toroflex things that the kids like--think of it as a perpetual-motion Slinky.  There wasn't as much great shopping as i'd expected so it took awhile to find something to send to Aunt Sis, who loved the Ren Fest and went every year; my Christmas present always came from the craftspeople.  

So, all in all, we had a wonderful time, though the loss of the dagger overshadowed the end a bit.  On the way home, we talked about going to faires in Pennsylvania and Maryland sometime; we laughed that later, Sis and Bud could even work them--on horseback, on violin, juggling, swordplay.  It was the perfect anniversary weekend.

Summer Fun: First Full Day

Friday was our first full day of summer, if you count summer essentially as no school.  Bud woke up at his usual 6:30 a.m. weekend time, while Sis purposefully slept til 9 a.m.  I was in between.

Before Sis awoke, Bud practiced his "Penguin of the Opera," an idea we had the night before to have him stage the musical with our collection of stuffed animals.  And he did an amazing job.  Below, you'll see Amy the bunny as Christine and Tango as The Penguin, in the "Angel of Music" scene, first in the mirror and then in the boat on the lake, and then the "All I Ask of You" scene on the roof of the Paris Opera.  Besides taking these stills, Bud has been practicing some of the score on the piano.  We then spent midday watching the 25th Anniversary Phantom at the Royal Albert Hall.  It's a good thing we've purchased tickets to the Broadway production later this year!

I love how Bud took the picture so you only see The Penguin in the mirror, just like in the stage show.

The boat is an upside-down cat scratching apparatus; Bud ingenuously flipped it over.

[No Name] appears as Raoul

When Sis woke up, we headed outside to play, it being a beautiful (cool for June) day.  I even did some weed-eating while they planted some seed packets they received from church as part of Stepping Up.    We also had the first of our many summer picnics, this one from the deli, sitting under the Japanese maple out front.

We ran errands midday--deposit at the bank (with lollipops!), party foods from the big store (and two new books--one Lego, the other a crafting felt project), and then we headed to the Y to join as a family in order to swim!  Surprisingly, Bud didn't want to swim, but Sis did, in the deep end even, for about an hour.  We stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Evening was spent eating the lobster that Ma, Gong, and Goo got us in Maine, as well as prepping for their birthday party.  The theme was Doctor Who, minimally, since it was mainly an ice skating party.  But we did make inspired "TARDIS in the Time Vortex" cupcakes, complete with blue-gold-white swirl and tilted TARDIS on a toothpick!  Sis helped frost while Bud and Mama made the decorations.  I think they came out rather well:

The inspiration

Our creation

I had promised them a water fight and so, stripping off my good shoes, I snuck up on them while they were swinging and doused them with the hose.  They got me back, pretty well, since we have two hoses and they're faster.

And then it was pretty much bedtime.

A really good start to our summer fun, considering we can check off two or three things off our list!

(And look, no mention of computers!!)

What Does the Doctor Say?

Sis made up a new song this evening, "What Does the Doctor Say?" (You know the Ylis tune so sing along!):


"What does the Doctor say?
I'm not, not, not, not from Mars . . . .

"What does Donna say?
Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi!

"What does Rose say?
Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf.

"What does the War Doctor say?
No, no, no, no, no more!

"What does River say?
Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers!

 " . . . . The secret of his name
Ancient mystery,
buried in Gallifrey
Will I ever know?
What is his name?"

--Sis Hungry (I'm very proud and impressed)

Birthday Surprise

Saturday morning the kids delivered their birthday surprise:  the Who-verse had invaded our Lego Christmas Village!   Daleks, sting rays, Adipose, Slitheen, Racnoss--all of them made by the kiddos, except the Silence.  They also had Vastra the Silurian, Arthur the horse, and even the T.A.R.D.I.S.  All so clever, so creative, such a wonderful gift.  

Multi-colored Daleks (and one beheaded civilian!)

The giant flying "sting ray" from "Planet of the Dead" with Vastra standing beside the T.A.R.D.I.S in the lower right corner 

A Racnoss

A Slitheen and two baby Slitheens

Little white Adipose

The Silence is ice skating

Live Blogging: Good Night!

Whew, settling into bed after a busy up-and-down day.  After our takeout pizza dinner (mmmm, Portuguese pizza with peppers, ham, onions, kalamata olives, and hard-boiled eggs!), we all watched the 50th anniversary Doctor Who (again, for us, for the first time for Goo.)  And we liked it just as much the second time (especially because I enjoyed spotting the Easter Eggs!)

While the kids headed to bed, Mama, Goo, and I headed to the kitchen to make dressing, the last of our preparatory tasks.  Then we sat around chatting until Goo fell asleep.  Poor fourth-year medical student, hardly gets any rest.  Mama and I stayed up even longer after he went to bed, as we talked about the day's events (mainly my aunt's injury and the conversations with my uncle and my parents.)

And now it's almost midnight and time to go to bed.  But at least there will be no alarm waking us up!

(One shout-out to Mama Teacher, who is not having the holiday she planned after her husband injured his leg this evening.  Please please please call us when you need something, even if it's just pie!)

SPOILERS!

Okay, not really any details here, but I am going to talk a bit about the 50th anniversary "Doctor Who" episode, "Day of the Doctor."

As promised, we gathered together with snacks in time for the live pre-show (which was lame) and then the commercial-free 75-minute Guinness record-breaking, worldwide-simulcast show.

And we LOVED it!

I won't say much more--SPOILERS--can you hear River Song saying that?--except that it gave us hope and excitement for the upcoming series.

And our trip to London, with visits to the Tower of London and the National Gallery (both in the episode.)  Too bad we won't see the . . . SPOILERS!

Doctor Who Weekend

If you haven't heard, this weekend is the 50th anniversary of the television show "Doctor Who."  I introduced the kids to the recent reboot, after myself becoming enthralled with the show in the last year or so.  They've seen episodes from the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors and look forward to seeing the 12th--they even both recently chose actor David Tennant (#10) as the person they most wanted to have over for dinner, in the guise of the Doctor (good taste, I'd say--and they chose it independently of me and each other!)  They've also put visiting the Doctor Who show and seeing the T.A.R.D.I.S. at the top of their London list (along with Harry Potter studios and the London Eye.)  No doubt after tomorrow's episode, SPOILERS the Tower of London and National Gallery will join the list as well.

So, tonight we'll watch some episodes they haven't seen yet, probably rewatch some of the trailers of the anniversary episode, and tomorrow we'll be watching the live pre-show and then the episode at 2:50, simulcast around the world.

Gotta stock up on Jammie Dodgers.  (Only wish I'd had these to make cookies with.)

(But no fish sticks and custard.)

Cemetery Style

I suppose it's not every family that takes an impromptu field trip through a cemetery, but it's what we did on the way home from church on Sunday.  As I've mentioned, Mama and the kids play Ingress, the app game using local landmarks.  And there was a nearby cemetery with several "portals" as part of the game.

It gave us a chance to talk about a few things, since death had come up a few times last week and since we don't visit cemeteries often (and rarely pay too much attention when we drive by, unless it's a really old one):

• respect for the dead (as we debated whether playing a game in a cemetery was respectful.  We decided because we were just driving through peacefully that it was ok.); 
• the history of cemeteries (at least the modern Western history, namely as parks, a la Bethnal Green in London and Green-wood in NYC, both of which I've visited);
• the function of cemeteries and especially gravemarkers (history, memorial, status, kinship, style);  
• burial customs (different cultural traditions, like the need to bury those who are Jewish quickly, those who are Muslim without coffins, and Mama's Chinese ancestors as far up a mountain as possible) and cemetery visitations (on religious holidays, Dios de los Muertos, significant personal anniversaries, or not much at all--Gommie buys Easter lilies and poinsettias in memory of her mother, but not for her mother's grave.  I like that.)  
• the styles and traditions of headstones (how many Eastern Europeans have begun to put likeness on gravemarkers; how since Schindler's List the placement of rocks on headstones has grown in popularity regardless of faith); 
• and even the business of cemeteries (the job of monument makers; the rules on headstones and floral offerings at some strict faith-based cemeteries; the cost of a plot; the maintenance of the space--even the amount of chemicals used to maintain that weedless forever-green look.) 

We also discussed how Mama and I don't really want to be buried in cemeteries, instead being cremated (ashes sprinkled somewhere or not, up to our descendants.)

And all Bud could do was look out for Weeping Angels!!

Perler Pride

For whatever reason, Sis,with Bud following, has taken up with Perler bead crafts again.  They've both made all manner of new designs, making up pictures and patterns--rainbow star, dolphin, sea monster, and, perhaps best of all, the T.A.R.D.I.S. and sonic screwdriver from "Doctor Who."

Happy parenting moment.

Expanding the Whovian Universe

The kids love "Doctor Who."

We watched two episodes last weekend and they begged for more this weekend.  Meanwhile, they played with my sonic screwdrivers, drew pictures of the TARDIS, and read the Who encyclopedia.  And, so, on Saturday night we watched "Blink," the episode with the scary Weeping Angels.  But it was a little too much.
Then Sunday morning after UU service, Sis and Bud played "Doctor Who" on the playground with the other kids.  They all talked about Daleks and Cybermen, Doctors 9, 10, and 11, the Face of Boe.  And they ran around playing a kind of Weeping Angels tag, only moving when their target wasn't looking.  It really was perfect, a happy/proud parenting moment for me and the sense of how right the UU church is for us.  And I think it purged them of Weeping Angel nightmares.

Of course, now when we go to London, they want to visit the Doctor Who store with its TARDIS.  They also want to see Harry Potter's Platform 9 3/4 and the phone booth where he dialed into the Ministry of Magic.  So much for the Tower or Westminster Abbey or the British Museum--our trip to London this spring might be a fandom trip!

Two New Fans

We all watched "Doctor Who" last night!  Even though knew about the T.A.R.D.I.S, sonic screwdrivers, "bigger on the inside," Weeping Angels, and the like, Sis and Bud hadn't seen "Doctor Who" yet.  Bud gets scared easily, ever since the Basilisk in Harry Potter and early stories about Medusa.  So Mama and I have been debating which episodes would be best.  And yesterday we decided--"Runaway Bride" and "Partners in Crime," both of which are the Tenth Doctor and my favorite companion Donna.

And they were a success.  The kids begged for more episodes and, when we said no (because who knows what our next episodes would be), they ran off to play with my sonic screwdrivers and build their own T.A.R.D.I.Ses, shouting "oi" at each other.

Now all I need to do is decide which episode would be okay next . . . .

Laid Up

I'm back in bed with this seemingly never-ending cold, having been up stuffing and coughing half the night.  At least it gives me a chance to watch "Doctor Who" season 7 to be ready for "Whomas" in about two weeks.

The Doctor is In

We were passing out flyers for our "Trick-or-Treat TUESDAY" earlier, walking door-to-door in our three-block area.  And I stepped in a hole off the street and fell down, not at all gracefully.  I'm fine--more embarrassed and scared than hurt, though my knee got all scraped up.  The kids heard and saw me go down and panicked.  Bud wanted to call 911!  "You said if you ever fell to call them!"  Of course, what I meant was if I were unconscious or somehow immobile.

I'm fine, just fine.  I'm home and the kids are at a playdate for a couple of  hours.  I took my meds and am watching "Doctor Who," my new favorite show.  I come to it very late, definitely a lacuna in my geek cred.  But it's the best medicine for my ego and knee.