Face in What?

Create your own FACEinHOLE
I've just blown a serious chunk of time playing with pictures over at Face in Hole.

It's seriously addicting and a hoot. So far I have been Audrey Hepburn, Princess Leia (in that awful bronze bikini- it was too good to pass up), Xena/Lucy Lawless, Scarlett O'Hara/Vivien Leigh, Lucy Liu in Kill Bill, and June Carter/Reese Witherspoon. I'm having great fun going back and forth with my Sister in Law, who finds it equally addicting.

The hardest part for me is finding brunettes that won't look dorky with bangs. Oh, and no Twilight please, that really doesn't interest me.

Decadence Without Chocolate

banana caramel
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I had a couple of bananas that were way past their prime, but I didn't want to make banana bread. I've been jonesing for Bananas Foster lately, but I didn't have vanilla ice cream.

So instead this morning I made a homemade caramel sauce with bananas and used it on my pancakes.

It was sinfully delicious.

It dripped a oozed all over my short stack of pancakes. It's sweet buttery goodness was nicely sopped up by the pancakes. I even plopped a dollop of whipped cream on top, which was completely unnecessary. It was an extremely decadent breakfast and with nary a bite of chocolate in site.

And here it is:

4 Tbl butter (1/2 a stick)
1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
3/4 heavy cream
2 bananas peeled and sliced

Melt the butter in heavy sauce pan, add sugar. Stir the mixture over med high heat until it reaches a lovely golden brown shade. Slowly add the cream and keep stirring. To reduce spattering when you add the cream first add just a tiny amount at a time. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute, then add in banana slices. Heat thoroughly on low and serve hot.

I actually let the final mix simmer for quite some time while I made my pancakes. The bananas were a bit mushy to start with and had beautifully melded into the caramel.

Only Jake was interested in trying it and he did not care for it, but I thought it was terrific.

One of My Favorites

I was so sad to see last night that John Hughes had passed away. He was a wonderful director and much too young. Of his films, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is my favorite.

Larry and I saw it in, of all places, Montreal. We had driven up there for the day from my mom's house on a whim. We were just knocking about the city and decided to go to the movies. We loved it.

And I swear my brother is Ferris Bueller.

A Bit of Rain

wildflower
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Yesterday we had our sprinkler system resurrected. It has been off all year because honestly I've been too busy. Normally I just flip the system on in late spring, but I knew I had a bunch of bum sprinkler heads and it has been fairly cool and damp.

So I waited.

Then summer hit in all its glory last week and it was time to start up the system. The sprinkler dudes came out yesterday and it turned out I had ten sprinkler heads that were just not up to snuff. The one I liked the most had a blade of grass poking out of the head. This morning the lawn got its scheduled soaking and then some. Mother nature decided she wasn't going to be one upped by a silly sprinkler system. We got a good soaking rain last night and this afternoon.

I stepped outside with my camera to see what I could find after the last storm passed by. I love how fresh everything looks with a a bit of rain and I was not disappointed. I found this little lovely down by our so-called creek (really it's just a glorified drainage ditch).

Artist of the Week: Origami

Rebecca asked me the other day about where origami originated. She thought China and I said Japan. We were out and about, so when we got home I looked up origami on the web and this striking figure popped up.

I was stunned, my jaw dropped. I have never seen such an intricate example of origami in my life.

I had to find out more about the dragon and its creator. This was definetly a candidate for Artist of the Week.

It was over at Neatorama where I first found the image. The blurb named the artist, Satoshi Kamiya, and how it took 40 hours over several months to create. And yes it really is just one sheet of paper (2 meters square). The most amazing thing, however, was he did this on his own without the aid of a computer.

From there I found his Wiki page and his own web site (which is, understandably, in Japanese and thus unintelligible to me). There were a few videos of him in action, but I found then to be on the whole annoying and the ones of him creating the above were all deleted. So instead I'll point you over to a Flickr fan site.

Satoshi Kamiya is truly a master of origami.

Just a Bit Obsessed

Dell
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

We have a squirrel, or rather, a family of squirrels and Dell is just a wee bit obsessed about them. And not in a friendly how-do-you-do sort of way, but rather dang-I-almost-nailed-the-little-beastie way.

The accursed critters dance upon the bird feeder and mock the red boys. I'll let Dell out and watch him hurtle towards the feeder while the squirrel neatly jumps into the tree and scoots onto the roof. Dell will then stand watch for seemly hours until the heat drives him back inside.

I think what really drives Dell is the fact that once big brother John actually nabbed one of the little buggers and ate it. Dell worshiped John for about a week, following him around and licking John's muzzle. It was a very big day when John killed a squirrel.

So I think it's now Dell's main mission in life to equal his brother's achievement.

Where The Wild Things Are

This weekend Larry and I went to see the latest installment in the Harry Potter opus. It was good, but as Larry so correctly observed it was rushed. Which is understandable considering the size of the book in question.

Anyhoo, this is not about the Half-Blood Prince, but is about another movie that is coming out in October.

Where the Wild Things Are

This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. I first learned about this production months and months ago and I was thrilled by the stills I saw. Then this weekend I got to see the trailer for the very first time during the previews before The Half-Blood Prince.

I love it. I can't wait for the movie, which opens the day after Max and Rebecca's birthday. Maybe I can take my Max to see another Max.

By a Nose

nosy tomato
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

For the first time this year I was finally able to make my way over the the 17th Street Farmers Market. It was last Thursday, which is when there is the grower's market, and my favorite grower (Amy of Amy's Garden) would be there.

I love Amy's produce. She has the best tomatoes and it was her that introduced us to the Sun Gold variety of cherry tomatoes and for that alone I'm eternally thankful. She always remembers me and pads out my pint of Sun Golds with just a bit more.

We got some luscious raspberries, the aforementioned Sun Golds, slicing tomatoes and a couple of Asian Melons (Jake really wanted them and how could I say no). As I was selecting our tomatoes I found this nosy little fellow. I just had to bring him home. All I had to do was perch two little pepper corns on him to make him complete. Then he got sliced up and made our salad all the more delicious.

In Praise of the Moss Rose

centerpieces
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Remember these plants from way back in June?

These were the centerpieces from Jake's Bar Mitzvah. Here is brief rundown on their story.

I decided that I would make the centerpieces, Jake wanted living plants and it would save a bit of money that we could then redirect towards food. All in all a good decision.

Jake was fairly easy to please, he likes the colors orange, yellow and blue. Fortunately those are colors that are not too hard to find and they look pretty good together. I picked out vinca for the blue and Meryl and I found two candidates for the yellow and orange; lantana and moss rose.

moss rose
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Unfortunately it turned out that the lantana was not the best choice, Meryl had a very nasty reaction to it. But the moss rose, oh what a wonderful plant it turned out to be.

The tag on the plants said it was water wise and they were not kidding. After the Bar Mitzvah I repotted the remainders in my deck boxes and promptly ignored them and they have thrived under some very challenging conditions.

I think I have watered them two *maybe* three times and they keep on blooming. They look as good as they did on the day I bought them which is utterly amazing to me.

Lookie Here

Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today we hauled our collective butts up to Richmond at the early (at least for us in the summer) at 8:45 am so that Nate could join his brother in the metal-in-the-mouth club.

An hour an half later Nate had a brand new smile.

Artist of the Week: Parrot

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This weeks artist is the far from camera shy Rebecca. She and her twin are always up for a photo session as opposed to her older brothers. It's not that I can't photograph them, although for about a year and half Jake flat out refused. Then when when it can to make my annual photo calendar for the family, he felt a bit left out when he saw how few pictures of him there were for me to chose from. That cured him right quick.

No, it's more of endless procrastination. Later mom, I'm busy.

With Max and Rebecca I might get a why now as they follow me along, but in the end they are happy to indulge me and my camera.

parrot
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Anyhoodle, Rebecca brought home this picture sometime near the end of the school year. It's a lovely picture of a bird on the flowering tree. My first thought was that the bird looks very much like Janis's Lucy over on Gone South. I know Eclectus does not have the band of yellow, but that was the first bird that sprang to mind.

It's a nicely composed picture that fills the page. The bird is perched on a branch in a fairly realistic pose, which I'm sure is from all the bird watching we do at the breakfast table. She is a very observant person (as are her brothers) and she is developing quite a talent in translating what she sees onto paper.

As I'm sure I have mentioned before, I love how she is not afraid to fill the page. She can make teeny tiny little drawings, but those are more of a result of the size of the paper. It's always fun to she what she'll draw next.

Quiet

It's nice now.

No more picking up Jake in Richmond.
No more nightly baseball practices for Larry and Nate.

Just an hour in the morning down at the tennis courts and the rest of the day is spent puddling about. The big event of the day was Nate going to the dentist and my starting to paint our new patio door.

This is what summer is all about.

Can't Trick Public on Health Costs

If you are a supporter of the great health care boondoggle, please read this article.

Can't trick public on health costs | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Shared via AddThis

Approximately just 30,000 adults and children suffer from CF in the USA which works out to about 0.01 % of the population of the United States. Max's drug expenses alone come to just over $42,000 a year, our health insurance covers the vast majority. Honestly I think CF patients, with an average lifespan of approximately 35 years, are going to get short shrift. It is an expensive disease and the so called universal healthcare coverage will result in reduced access to therapies and drugs in the interest in saving the bottom line. The system right now is not perfect, but works for families such as mine.

Fun With Sheep

I saw this courtesy of Scott over at AMCGLTD.

I've been on a whole border collie/sheep herding book kick (Donald McCaig is a wonderful author) and the whole thing is a hoot. They had me when with a bit of stop motion animation they had a giant sheep walk across the field.

A Lovely Lunch

fresh tomatoes
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The other day the boys had penne (or as we call it tubes) for lunch. Since they are a bunch of gastronomic heathens I gave them jarred sauce for their pasta. They were perfectly happy and together they ate about 1/2 pound of pasta.

I however decided to use up some grape tomatoes we had hanging about. A little butter and some olive oil was heated up. I chopped up some garlic and tossed it into the butter and oil mixture. In the meantime I roughly chopped the tomatoes and fresh basil. When the garlic was all brown and lovely I tossed in what I had just cut up. A minute or so later I finished it off with a splash of balsamic vinegar, a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper.

It smelled heavenly and tasted divine.

Because That's the Way I Roll

top of the hill
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today for the first time in a long while I went for a bike ride. We have been kind of busy in the mornings and I've had a hard time being able to get out of the house and shower before having to go somewhere.

So I fell out of the habit.

Which was really a shame since we have been having one of the nicest summers ever. The temperatures have been moderate and humidity really hasn't been a factor. Basically I've been a bum.

But today I got off my tush, dragged out my bike and did it.

I have two different routes. Most of the time I just keep making right hand turns and end up on a road that doubles back almost to my road. It's a nice route with 5 good sized uphill climbs. Today, however, I went on my secondary route. Max wanted a different hat for tennis, so my plan was to swing by the courts and drop it off.

end of the road
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This route (obviously) goes by the pool and tennis courts and it too has 5 uphills climbs. It's a wee be shorter, but a nice ride all the same. It also has my two favorite hills.

The first picture shows the crest of the hill before the road plunges down and then shoots back up to a turn about. This is the best part. I get so much speed going down I can almost coast to the top of the other side.

I then get to turn around and do the whole thing over again.

The return ride isn't quite so easy. The hill at the end of the road is a bit shorter so I don't get quite the same amount of speed and I actually have to some work to get to the top. It is still a blast.

Riding about on flat roads is fine and dandy, but a bit boring. I love the fact that I have a nice bit of hilliness in my neighborhood.

Artist of the Week: Baseball

Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

In honor of the ongoing baseball tourney, Nate is the artist of the week.

So far it has been an exciting tournament. The first four games are pool play, then the top two teams in each pool play in the semifinals with the pool winners playing the championship.

The first two games Nate's team pretty much pounded the other team. They would start off down a few runs, but would come roaring back and soundly defeat them. The final scores were 20 to 10 and 22 to 4. The games are supposed to run to six innings, but in both of those games the slaughter rule was invoked in the fourth to end the other teams misery.

Yesterday's game promised to be a good one. We were up against the other undefeated team in our pool.

Nate2b
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The other team was very good. They started off with three runs and maintained their lead for most of the game, but our boys kept plugging along. We have an amazing depth in our pitching, we have four really good pitchers while most teams have two maybe three. The rest of the fielders are not too shabby, they are alert and responsive to whatever comes their way. Nate has been switching between second and center field. I'm always amazed at how he can just fire the ball back to the pitcher when he is way out in center field.

Then there is our offense, these boys can really hit. They have learned to wait for the right pitch. There are no easy outs on our team when they are at bat.

Anyway back to last night's game.

start of the swing
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

In the fifth inning we had finally tied up the score. We had two outs and I think two on base. It was Nate's turn to step up to the plate, he was focused and ready to go. He has some outstanding statistics during this tournament, 6 hits in 7 at bats with two walks. In the stands we all started chanting Nate's name.

Jake asked if I was going to take pictures and I said no, I wanted to see what was happening and not through the viewfinder. I honestly don't remember the exact pitch count, it was a couple of balls and at least one strike. And then he got the pitch he was looking for. He drove a nice hit out towards center field. The ball hit the ground before anybody to get to it and Nate was off.

He ended up knocking in the winning run, by the end of the inning the score was 11 to 8, all they had to do was block the other team during the top of the sixth and they did it.

I asked Nate later if he knew he had batting in the winning run. He was genuinely surprised, he told me that he hit the ball and started running to first. He only knew it was a good hit because the first base coach (one of his team mates) was jumping up and down.

That's the kind of player Nate is. He was so focused in hitting the ball and getting on base he didn't even see where the ball went or what else was happening on the field. He really is a true athlete and not a show boat on the field.

Where's the Bunny?

ooh, bunny
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The red boys love all of the suburban wildlife running around in our backyard. As you can see by the grubby nose prints on the window, they enjoy surveying their domain.

Fairly often you can find one or both of the dogs staring out the windows with their noses pressed against the glass. When it is a particularly offensive animal (like oh say deer or squirrels) they let loose with a barrage of barks. For some reason rabbits only elicit a low level whine. Which is ironic considering that they are run, sporadically, in field trials on RABBIT.

If you click on this picture it will lead you to the picture in my Flickr photostream and you can see what they are looking at a little bit better.

bunny
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Why there's the bunny!

This little guy was happily munching away on our lawn just below the window the red boys like to stare out of. It's a cute little bunny and for whatever reason I have less of an issue with the rabbits in my backyard than the deer. Maybe because I have far fewer rabbits in my yard and they far less destructive than the tall rats.

However they still have to watch out for the red boys, they would like to have some fresh free-range rabbit for dinner.

40 Years Ago Today

All Star Baby

Catcher
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Nate did it again and was selected to be on the invitation All-Star team with the added bonus of Larry being the coach. This time around Nate has been mostly out in the field, but I love this picture I got of him all geared up behind the plate. Today was the first time he got to be catcher. The pitcher, one of Nate's regular season teammates, prefers to have my boy behind the plate. Larry told me that the kid said "I like Nate because he's so small, all I see is the glove."

Yesterday and today were the first two days of the tournament. We have a very good team, loaded with talent in both defense and offense. So far we have won first two games with the respective scores of 20 to 10 and 22 to 4. They are just rolling along in pool play. There are two more games left, then the top teams go on to the semi-finals.

I'll be missing tomorrow's game, it's at 8:15, which is too late for a couple of seven year olds I know and I have to pick up Jake at the train at 8:00. But I'll be there Tuesday, rooting for our boys.