Curious Bird

:calm and quiet:

Yesterday evening Dustin took Felix to a nearby park for some raucous play and dinner at a food truck rodeo that was happening there. Durham is such an awesome town for so many reasons, and the fact that there are so many amazing food trucks is definitely high on the list of why. Delicious fare+great people committed to using quality, most often locally sourced ingredients+being able to purchase and eat dinner (glass noodles and dumplings, oh my!) while your toddler runs his legs off at a playground= serious win. Go Durham!

But I digress. This post isn't supposed to be about Durham or food trucks. Nope, it is about the calm and quiet that took place while my two guys were off doing their thing. It is nice to remind myself how wonderful it was to be surrounded by nothing but calm and quiet for a couple of hours and taking some time to actually appreicate it and take advantage of it. Like many people, I often find myself not settling into such moments when I should (there's always something to clean or catch up on, right?) so I thought writing it down here might help me remember to sit down and be quiet a little more often.

An empty house and a quiet dinner eaten slowly while thumbing through a new stack of books from the library can be the best medicine sometimes. And that is certainly something worth remembering.

Here's to a little calm and quiet coming your way this weekend. Hope you have a good one.

-Leya

We left town suddenly a few days ago flying home to celebrate the life of Dustin's dear grandfather. What a great man he was.  We're so happy we made the trip and had the chance to spend some time with family. But now thanks to Hurricane Irene we are having a difficult time getting home. Don't you just love it when the airline leaves a  message saying your flight has been canceled, followed by informing you that you must call back (and stay on hold for an eternity while being forced to listen to horrid music) to reschedule?!  Not nice. 

Anyway, I'll be back in a bit.
Stay safe, fellow East Coast friends.

xo,
Leya

bitten by the spring cleaning bug

I spent time this weekend scheming about all the Spring cleaning projects I want/need to do. The list is extensive, let me tell you. For starters, I tackled our kitchen cabinets, specificially our giant lazy susan (love that thing!) which is full of spices, sauces and baking ingredients. Everything was taken out and inspected for freshness -- I'm guessing I'm not the only one who keeps spices for waaaay too long.  Lots of old stuff was tossed, a list of things I need to purchase was made, labels were printed (damn. I know it's dorky as hell, but I love my label-maker) and several perfectly good spices were relocated to recyled baby food jars. As soon as I finished this project I felt like I could breath a little easier. Funny how Spring cleaning has a way of doing that. Next up...the bathroom cabinets!

Happy Monday to you. Hope your weekend nice.

-L

 Turmeric is spelled with an R. Too bad my label-maker doesn't have spell check ;)

 

not the kind of mail I look forward to...

I know it's my civic duty, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I have already been called for Jury Duty once since living here, and we've only lived in Philadelphia for 3 1/2 years. What gives? 

Just read that Gourmet Magazine (and Cookie) is being canceled by Conde Nast.
I really look forward to getting each and every issue of Gourmet. This is a total bummer. 

time flies.

hello there,

man oh man, I fell into a rabbit hole.  the photo above shows how much I have been able to climb out. yep, not too much, although, I am working on it.

let's just say that having a very busy summer and then moving to a new place (one that we really love, but one that needed a little tlc -- still need to paint the kitchen), AND starting back to graduate school has been a bit much. I don't recommend throwing all of those things into the mix at one time. not such a good idea, it turns out.

so, the blog silence might continue for a bit longer.  I will pop in sometime soon to say hello and hopefully share a few photos -- mortimer is really dying to show off his favorite new napping spot,  the stairs.

soon, I hope.

-leya

taking notice

it happened. I never know from year to year when it's going to happen but today was the day. while riding my bike to meet up with one of my favorite ladies, I smelled fall in the air. it was most definitely the smell of fall. that crispness was there, and with it came my usual excitement about the approaching possibility of  wearing an extra layer in the evenings. it made me grin as I rode. what a pleasant surprise it was. it always is. 

(last year).

random

Beware: this post is pretty random, complete with a photo that has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

There is really no other way to begin such a post, so how about like this:

I have a couple of questions that perhaps you can help me with. Since I've had lots of success using this here blog to ask for recommendations on books and camping, and even tips on Philadelphia neighborhoods when planning our last move, I figure I should learn from past experience and use it again.

First, there is a chance D and I are going to be exploring the area around Ithaca, NY for a couple of days in mid-June. Do you happen to know of any good places to see/things to do in and around Ithaca? We would like to camp if we can find a quiet spot. We're not opposed to backpacking if that's an option. So...know of any quiet spots near Ithaca? We hear it's gorges there (thanks to several t shirts and bumper stickers), so we know we're going to like it, however, a good camping situation would make it just that much better.

Next, the mister and I are in need of a good wok. I know, random, eh?  Do any of you have anything to say on the wok subject? We have been making pad thai in a skillet and it is just not cutting it. We want a good one that will last a long time and we don't mind seasoning it ourselves. We've done some research on woks and seem to be flummoxed about what to get.

Any help on Ithaca or our quest for the perfect wok is greatly appreciated. If you have information on both, I might just send you a little thank you gift.

Oh, and before I go, tomorrow is the first day of my weekly photo project, Daily Ritual. If you want to join in, I've created a flickr group. We'll see how this goes. I think it may end up being a little more challenging than I initally thought. I'm really looking forward to seeing what people photograph.

Have a good day,
Leya

p.s. the photo above was taken during one of my adventures in grape pickling. just thought I should mention that, so you don't think that I have some strange grape-trimming issue.

hi there.
hope your week is happy. mine hasn't turned out too awesome. I have been down for the count since monday afternoon. I felt it first in my chest. a tightening. that tightening. then I felt it in my throat. and finally I started throwing my stuff in my bag and making a run for the bus that would deliver me to my apartment. I knew I was in for it when I had to lean my head against the bus window, something that is usually entirely off limits. I made it home just in time and have been either on the sofa watching cooking shows or the australian open (I know nothing about tennis, although I might know a little more now) or in bed trying unsuccessfully to find a comfortable position. I have something called a cold mixed with a dash of flu-like symptoms. you know the symptoms I'm talking about, chills and those terrific body aches. today is day number three and I'm going to will myself to get around and do some more reading. I'm also going to wash my hair if it requires my pouring bowl fulls(ahem) bowlfuls of water over my head. I might even leave the house to get more of those life-saving lotion kleenex, but I may decide against that and ask Dustin to do it. he's good like that.

before I go, I do want to show off the delicious bread I made last weekend. it was by far the easiest baking experience of my life. seriously. it turned out really good.
and if I had an appetite, I would eat some more of it. 

make yourself comfortable....

because I have quite a story for you.

we spent the weekend  in an area we love so much, the Hudson River Valley in New York. after two weeks of construction noise here in Philadelphia, we were so ready to get to the country for a little peace and quiet and of course good times with close friends. we had plans to hike and canoe and spend time reading in the hammock, BUT (here's where the plans took a turn) I had a little interaction with a sick bat in the middle of the afternoon in the very spot the photo above was taken. yep, you read that correctly, I had a bat fall out of the sky and land on me --due to a bat's teeth being really small, it's still unclear if it scratched or bit me, although it sorta felt like it did-- this all took place in the middle of the afternoon (bats don't typically come out in daylight). this bat was definitely sick.  after a trip to the emergency room for seven shots (SEVEN!) I was released back into the world. the weekend pretty much went back to normal except for my feeling a little sick and slightly traumatized. I feel fine now, although quite sore due to all the shots. how's that for a little unexpected adventure...
oh, and now I have to get weekly shots for the next four weeks. I'm not even sure if the bat had rabies, but rabies is no joke, so I'm not chancing it.

have fun out there..and watch out for falling bats,
leya