One Down and One To Go

Today I finished Western Civ II, after correcting two questions on the test I should have a 100% on the final.

Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll finish Sociology of the Family, the completion of that test will bring an end to my first two years of college. The sociology class was by far my favorite of the two classes this semester. I learned so many things about myself, my wife, our marriage, and the way we communicate. I thought the most interesting thing was learning about how to deal with the differences in how men and women think, act, and communicate (and yes, fight). I would recommend this class to everyone that doesn't plan to be a recluse, it's definately a class I'll use throughout my life (I'm keeping the book too, surely I'll need it as a reference at some point).

I don't feel like adding up the number of years it took to get the two year degree. Maybe the fact that it has taken forever to do the first two years has something to do with my GPA, which should round out to about 3.97.

Famous Dogs and New Findings

Check this out, look who's on April 25th, 2007... Tucker is FAMOUS!

We didn't lose all the Goumi berries to the Easter freeze. We found a few berries that survived.

We also found these in an Azalea bush in our front yard.

First Blood

Ron picked up his new roadbike yesterday after several hours of deliberation at the local Performance shop so we decided to break it in today. He settled on the Schwin Fastback Pro, a very well equipped bike with the full Ultegra kit.

There was just a bit of carnage out there, just a bit. Ron and bike are fine. Take a look at the other pics.

New Favorite

I know you should love all things equally, but I admit to picking favorites. Even worse, I am fickle--my favorite thing changes weekly, sometimes daily in the high gardening season.

Right now, my favorite plant is Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'. I bought this plant two years ago from the local Plant Delights Nursery, which specializes in, well, specialty plants. It was a tiny wee stalk back then and with each year has returned faithfully and quadrupled in size. What gardener wouldn't love this plant?

When it first emerges, it looks like purple asparagus.
(The picture below was taken on March 29th.)

Later, green leaves emerge on the smoky stems.
(The picture below was taken on April 15th.)


Here it is today, in full bloom and glory.

The peonies should be blooming soon...

New Black Beans

As a strict vegetarian for 12 years and a quasi-one for the last three or four, I have long sought a solid, flavorful recipe for black beans. I finally found one in last month’s Gourmet magazine. To my surprise, my time-honored technique of overnight soaking or preboiling the beans is not necessary!

Last night, I made Kemp’s Black Beans and was introduced to the seasoning triumvirate of sherry, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. I incorporated the beans into an impromptu dinner with shredded cheese, diced avocado, roasted sweet potatoes, cooked kale, and diced tomatoes tossed with cilantro. This was served on a warm flour tortilla sprinkled with a store-bought Rosa Mexicano salsa (I personally think the flavor of a roasted salsa is important to this dish) and finely chopped pine nuts. The sweet, nutty, roasted, and fresh flavors of this dish had a remarkable, but not overwhelming depth.


The good news is that the bean recipe makes more than enough for leftovers (which we will be happily eating for lunch today) as well as for other recipes later in the week. Some of Kemp's suggestions include her own Black Beans and Rice Your Way and Black Bean Soup with Sherry and Lime. Enjoy!

You Like Reggae Music?

I don't normally shop at Wal-Mart, particularly after learning how the chain displaces local businesses and since reading Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. The book chronicles the author during her tenure working for the company and yields some insights into the life of a Wal-Mart employee, many of whom are among the working poor.

I digress.

I went to Wal-Mart during my lunch hour in search of Luigi and Guido, Chick Hicks, King, Fillmore, Sarge, and Lizzie. These characters from the Disney Pixar movie Cars are the beloved of my nephew Alec. My brother is collecting two of each--one for Alec to play with and another to put away for safekeeping. Some of them are hard to come by and thus a cross-country search for the characters has ensued.

I digress again.

As I am walking through the parking lot, a woman leans out of her driver-side door and hollers, "Excooose me!"

I scan the lot for the body of the voice and she says again, "Excuse me, ma'am."

"Hello."

"Do you like reggae music?" she asks.

I do a quick mental scan of my possible replies and the possible outcomes of this conversation based on each of my responses. I decide that nothing worthwhile could come out of telling her that yes, I do like Jimmy Cliff, Toots & the Maytals, Bob Marley, and Ziggy Marley among others.

"No," I lie.

Puzzled, and thinking that surely she knows I am lying, I carry on. And one day later, I find myself still wondering why she asked. I assumed she wanted to sell me some pirated CDs or other item, but who knows?

Spectator Injury Update

It did hit the news today, and luckily the guy survived. Here is the link for the story out of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I'm sorry he won't be riding a bicycle again, but glad he lived.