“You never see the bad days in a photo album…
But it’s the hard times that get you from one happy snap shot to the next.”
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30Jun
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25Jun
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24Jun
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Most dogs bark wildly at the predictable mailman because they’re famous for invading their yard. Well, our clever postal carrier brings a bone, and Molly always knows when he’s coming, even before he rings the door bell. Although she barks loudy, I think it’s more of an “excited, happy bark.”
She is kind of funny about her bone too because she walks around the whole apartment and attempts to hide it. Usually, the hiding place is behind a chair or a plant, but I guess she is just saving it for later…moments later.
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18Jun
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Ya know how people always complain that they never have any money to do anything? Well, I’m one of them, so I got off my tush, and did something- for free. Yesterday was a beautiful spring afternoon, and Sam and I drove down to my home turf in Columbia County. We strapped on our Keens and hiked around at the Omi International Art Center in Ghent, a great place to check out interesting art in a natural environment. Here’s a clip from the website about The Fields Sculpture Park at Omi:
The Fields [over 100 acres] was founded in 1998 as public grounds for viewing contemporary sculpture with over 80 works of art on view. Several new pieces are added every year and temporary curated exhibitions are opened to the public each June. There are six distinct areas for viewing sculpture comprised of rolling fields, wooded knolls, and wetlands. A path for viewing the sculptures follows the edge of a natural pond surrounded by trees, providing a shaded backdrop to view the pieces.
The setting is very natural and serene, and it’s a great place to relax and enjoy a little bit of nature and a lot of art. Everywhere you turn there was a path leading to a large sculpture or a unique design etched on a tree or something floating over a swampy wetland. Just a few days ago, Omi had the grand-opening to their Visitors Center, a very “green” building, equipped with a grass roof, solar panels, LED lights, recycled materials and much more. The new center adds yet another great element to this fabulous art park.
Here are some of my favorite works of art at Omi:
Even though the park was an adventure to both Sam and I, someone else had a fabulous time while were there. As soon as we opened the car door, Molly scurried past us and took off running into The Fields, happy to be free. Occasionally, she would look back at us and wait, probably thinking “hey guys are you coming?” Later when we were walking through the “wooded knolls,” Molly found a cool muddy puddle to wade in, so we made her swim some more in the scream to wash off. She didn’t mind.
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17Jun
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The project started with a leaky toilet and a stinky shower curtain. Every now and then when you flush our toilet it starts leaking from the handle, so Sam called our landlord, Dave, and told him about the dilemma. Sam said he could fix it, and Dave said to deduct the cost of the parts and another $50 for labor because he didn’t want to call a plumber. We wandered over to Home Depot, and after talking to his dad, Sam realized he could fix it without replacing any parts. Somewhere between the bathroom section and the front door, we were buying paint to makeover our ugly bathroom vanity.
The face of the vanity was wood and the rest was partical board. I’m thinking 70′s vintage? As you can see, the vanity doesn’t match the original black and white tile floor. So, we primed and painted for a quick and cheap updated look. We, also, spray-painted the rusted brass hardware a metallic finish for a more modern decor.
And what about that smelly shower curtain? Curtain liners always get so stinky and gross, so we opted for a machine washable liner/ curtain. Our bathtub is very old and we need two shower curtains to fit all the way around, and the one and a half that we had just wasn’t making the cut. We went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought two pale, blue gray shower curtains that double as liners. Total makeover: $50.
Jasper seemed to enjoy the new shower curtain. I moved them from the bed, so he couldn’t lay on them, but I guess he found them anyway.
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17Jun
Categories: Blonde Things, Sam's Recipes Comments: 1
A couple weeks ago, Sam and I bought some fresh King salmon and made a tasty dinner. The fillet of salmon we bought was rather large, so what we didn’t use we popped in the freezer for another dinner. This morning Sam and I pulled out left over salmon and de-thawed it for tonight’s dinner. We did our weekly grocery shopping and planned out enough protein for the week. We bought a bunch of yummy seafood like shrimp, tuna, and swordfish, but then our good friend Ryan Balzer [Balzer for short] texted Sam and said Lobster was on sale at Price Chopper! We told him to come on over and bring some lobster! What’s a little more seafood? Couldn’t hurt I guess…
For dinner we enjoyed a delicious raw salmon salad with fresh lettuce from our garden, and a homemade salad dressing that I prepared.
Sweet & sour dressing:
ginger
olive oil
lemon juice
sugar
honey
fresh parsley
sesame seeds
salt and pepper
dijon mustardDirections: Eyeball ingredients. Put in food processor and serve.
For our main course we dinned on Balzer’s lobster and some ginger sesame rice. Later we took the left-over lobster shells and prepared a lobster bisque. We looked up some recipes online, but we ended up throwing a bunch of good stuff in the pot and going with the flow. Onions, parsley, dill, bay leaves, butter, cream, salt & pepper, lobster shells, and fresh nutmeg from Carriacou
I’d let you know how it turned out, but it almost 12:30 am, and the lobster is still cooking. Our apartment smells like a creamy delicious lobster bisque!
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15Jun
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When I was fifteen my dad told me to get a job. So, he drove me to The Red Barn in Ghent, and I dropped off my resume. That was in May 2001, and I am currently employed by the same restaurant. Although the menu has changed drastically over the past nine years, from the outside it still looks like a great big red barn.
Saturday nights from May to December, I wait tables and assist in catering special events for the owners, Chris and Bert. The couple live on a local farm and a few years ago they started growing their own produce to feed hungry Red Barn patrons. The couple also support local farms like Grazin’ Angus Acres. They also started tapping into several local farmer’s markets all across upstate New York, and this summer I will be helping them at the Kinderhook and Hudson markets.
This past Saturday was my first market in Hudson from 9 am – 1 pm. What are we bringing to the table?
pink lemonade- $2
homemade potato chips, $2 per small bag
watermelon slices- $2
fruit kabobs- $2
chicken and veggie pot pies- $8/$14
lobster pot pie- $20
My day stated at seven am, and I am not a morning person, nor am I a coffee drinker. Anticipating the long day, I dusted off my coffee machine the night before and auto set it for seven. Unfamiliar with my coffee machine, I set it wrong and woke up around six smelling my hazelnut coffee already brewing, so I had to reheat it later. Thankfully, the coffee helped me through the morning.
While Chris and I were in Hudson, Bert and his nephew, Ben were managing the Kinderhook market, and our two teams had a competition going to see who could sell the most food. Personally, I think Chris and I won by a landslide, selling out of chips, watermelon, and our only two lobster pot pies [plus one of Bert's that Chris later hand delivered to someone]. Bert and Ben sold a lot of stuff as well, but the lobster sealed the deal for us.
At the end of the market all the vendors started trading produce and other items that they didn’t sell. Chris and I scored four locally grown heads of lettuce, sugar snap peas, and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Finally, I went home around 2 pm to my parents, ate lunch, napped, and drove back to the restaurant around 5 and stayed until 12 pm. Long and exhausting day, but the market was kind of fun.
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14Jun
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After the Yankee game vs. Boston on Thursday night, Sam, David, Jenna, and I headed to Providence for the night. On Friday, Sam and I wandered back to Boston to walk around and grab some lunch. Here’s how the day went:
When we finally arrived in Boston we found some parking for a small fee of $34. The MINI squeezed in a tight cozy nook.
Sam and I ate an amazing lunch at Tia’s Restaurant & Bar by Quincy Market. My dish was CHAR-GRILLED MARINATED SWORDFISH – NICOISE VINAIGRETTE;GARLIC MASHED POTATOES, AND GRILLED ASPARAGUS $25.95. Sam enjoyed the TWIN LOBSTER SPECIAL – FRENCH FRIES AND COLESLAW $24.95, and we each had a few glasses of wine. It was fabulous and worth every penny.
We walked through Quincy Market, and I bought a pair of new earrings and a piece of lapis lazuli to add to my rock collection. Meanwhile, Sam was capturing a few interesting perspectives of downtown Boston.
Finally, it’s no secret that residents of Massachusetts have been dubbed “massholes.” Observe here:
Apparently, there is an unspoken law in Massachusetts and the adjacent state of Rhode Island, which states that the shoulder can be used as an extra lane. Luckily, we made out alive and the MINI is in one piece, but I can’t say the same for the bumperless beat-up cars we saw while driving in these states.
