Seen outside my window late this morning

Could it be? Is that a robin I see?

Wait a minute, thee! It's two robins I see!

Could spring really be coming sooner than anticipated?

I damn well hope so...if the groundhog sees his shadow next Tuesday I'm gonna go ballistic.

The Pumpkin Pie Looks Awesome!

I know I said I'd post the recipe tonight, but I'm postponing it for tomorrow because I have some great pics to show you of the first pie I ever made!

Here's the crust right after I rolled it and pressed it into the pan. I am so damn proud of this crust! This was the part of making the pie that made me the most nervous.

Here's the pie right after I poured the filling into the crust.

Here's the pie immediately after the oven timer went off and I pulled out the rack...

...and here's the finished product, all cooled off, ready to be wrapped and refrigerated.

My friend will receive this gift with a nice can of Reddi Whip.

Hmmm...this looks good enough to make me want pumpkin pie for breakfast...

Brooklyn Bridge

It's become my tradition to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge whenever I go to the city by myself. And yesterday was the perfect day to do it.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Waterfalls public art display, and even heard one of the installations underneath the bridge as I walked to Brooklyn.

All in all, between Bastille Day and the Brooklyn Bridge, it was a great day to be in the city.

Bastille Day on 60th Street, New York, July 13, 2008

Yesterday I attended the Bastille Day celebrations on 60th Street in Manhattan. 60th Street is home to the New York branch of l'Alliance Francaise, the largest world language school in the United States. The FIAF has lots of cultural events, movies, and goodies to sell, in addition to language lessons.

The FIAF was selling tickets to a "Wine and Cheese" tasting all day, which took place in their building. By 3:00 they had crossed off the word "cheese" from their signs. Malheureusement, I did not purchase a ticket, since my tummy was full on a chocolate crepe and some pommes frites. These weren't as good as their Parisian counterparts (the crepe was made with HERSHEY SYRUP--or at least it tasted an awful lot like it!), but it was still a noble effort, and made me want to return to La Belle France in the worst way. Time to save my pennies!

Anyhoo, enjoy these pictures from the event. This was the first thing I saw when I got off the subway.

Crepe makers were the first chefs I saw when I stepped onto 60th Street. My mouth started watering--it had been years since I had a good chocolate crepe!

Here's my crepe in its finishing stages...

...and here's the finished product, une crepe a la americaine. For it to be authentically French, it would be served in paper and not on a plate.

There were lots of yummy pastries along the way.This could very well be one of the next books I read. I'm a foodie, and I speak French, so that would be perfect!

In addition to the great food, there were lots of beauty treatments along the way, such as mini facials.

Here are some more French goodies, made with monoi and tamanu oils. According to the brochure I got, Tahitian women use these oils for hair and skin ailments.

I saw this little French tea party set at one of the vendor booths.

At the end of 60th Street, right at the entrance to Central Park, there was a car show full of antique Citroens...

...and Peugeots. My mom had a friend who drove a model similar to this one.

No French street fair would be complete without a mime...

...or can-can dancers!

A Visit to Birdland: Baltimore Orioles, July 2, 2008

Exactly one week after I paid my New Britain Rock Cats a visit, I found myself in Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a game between the O's and the Kansas City Royals.

You can tell that Baltimore is really proud of its team. The ballpark is almost smack dab in the middle of downtown, not far from the Inner Harbor. The streets around Camden Yards are full of stores and restaurants like this one:

There is so much detail in the planning and design of the park. Take a look at the Eutaw Street gates. All of the gates around the ballpark are like this one, with the orioles facing one another. I just thought it was a neat little detail that made you feel like you were at an old-fashioned ballpark (which was exactly what the designers of Oriole Park at Camden Yards were going after).

Here are some more examples of the thoughtfulness and care that went into the design of this ballpark. Here's one of the seats. The original logo of the first Baltimore baseball team is built into the seat.

Signs like this one were posted all over the stands. We didn't have to worry about batted balls in our left field section, at least not in this game. By the way, that oriole you see? It's taken from the logo from the 1983 team, the last Baltimore team to win a World Series.

Here's a wide shot of the outfield, with a great view of the old B&O warehouse behind right field. The warehouse now houses restaurants, team offices, and some apartments.

This was my favorite feature of the jumbotron--the Baltimore Sun clock and logo right above it. It added a really classy element to the ballpark. The orioles you see on either side of the clock are weathervanes, and they kept spinning in the breeze all night.

Here's a shot from where I was sitting, right above left field:

PLAY BALL!!!

Here's a better shot of the action:

And here are two O's outfielders, warming up before the inning starts:
And how did the O's do that night?
It was an incredible game. The pitcher, Daniel Cabrera, had pitched a complete game. He went 0-3 in the month of June, with a 7.06 ERA, and really needed this win. He retired 14 straight batters between the fourth and eighth innings.

And that's not all! Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Nick Markakis had an RBI double. I'm pretty sure there was a triple somewhere in there, but orioles.com didn't have that listed in the game's recap (which helped me tremendously in reviewing the game's stats.) And what a feeling it was to hear "Orioles Magic" play in the stands as the crowds left the ballpark.

That game left me a fan of Orioles baseball. They're not quite up there with my love for the Mets yet, but they'll get there. (Remember, the O's played the "Miracle Mets" in the 1969 World Series--and no Met fan who was alive then will ever forget that year. Me? I'll always remember the '86 Series. I was alive then).

Finally, I leave you with this photo. Take a look at the Esskay Meats logo to the left of the scoreboard. Between innings, Esskay sponsored a "hot dog race" on the jumbotron, a computer-animated race between Mustard, Ketchup, and Relish hot dogs. Three hot dogs, each with their condiment of choice, ran, or should I say, bounced around the bases. The first hot dog to completely circle the bases was the winner--and tonight it was relish.

I mention this because Esskay, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, sponsored a brief, five-minute kids show on WRC-TV in Washington, DC. One of its stars went on to become a major international icon.

Who is this superstar? Find out in the next post!

Ms. Kitten and Mr. Roosevelt

While I was walking along the Tidal Basin, I came across the FDR memorial, a memorial that was long overdue in Washington, but well worth the wait.

The memorial is divided up into five "rooms", four representing a term of FDR's presidency, and a "Prologue Room." The Prologue Room starts with the presidential seal, with the first year of his tenure in office, 1933, carved below it:


Then we are introduced to the man himself. President Roosevelt had polio, and was wheelchair-bound for the duration of his term.


For some reason I never took pictures in Room One, but I took a few in Room Two. In Room Two, sculptures depict some of the hardships of the times. This first sculpture depicts a man listening to one of FDR's Fireside Chats on the radio.


This next one, and the one that follows, symbolize the poverty and unemployment of the times. The quotes in the walls, which didn't come out well in the photos, talk about some of the New Deal Programs like the Works Progress Administration, which helped the unemployed find jobs.



These relief sculptures are supposed to depict some of the conditions that inspired FDR to create his New Deal programs. Unfortunately, you can't see too much detail in the photos, and I haven't figured out how to "click and enlarge" for detail. (Jane Redmont is an expert at that in her blog.)


One of the organizations that FDR created under the New Deal was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The TVA created many jobs for a region hit particularly hard by the Depression. A large series of dams and a few fossil fuel plants were built provide electricity and flood control to the citizens of Tennessee and some parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky. This water sculpture, one of many in the memorial, symbolizes the creation of the TVA.


Room Three has a marvelous sculpture of FDR and his beloved dog, Fala.

There's another terrific water sculpture adjacent to FDR and Fala. These water sculptures, according to the brochure supplied by the National Park Service, are meant to give the memorial more of a relaxed garden feel, as opposed to a monstrous building.

Room Four begins with a statue of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, which honors her work with the United Nations and human rights issues.

The monument ends with a sculpture of FDR's funeral cortege, which hangs in a small alcove just before you walk out.

This was a truly beautiful monument, and there really is nothing like it in Washington. You really get a feeling of peace as you walk through it, and you don't feel intimidated by imposing sculptures. While I was there, many tourists took the opportunity to pose for pictures of themselves sitting with FDR and Fala. And this memorial is adjacent to the Tidal Basin and the cherry trees; I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the spring.

I think this has replaced the Lincoln Memorial as my favorite monument in Washington.