strange happenings in IC

the other night, i decided i was going to cook dinner for us. this is a somewhat rare occurrence as i am generally relegated to prep work and R&D (finding new recipes), while M works her magic. well, i was in the mood for something spicy and decided to make my patented pad thai. to make this a reality, i was going to have to run to New Pi for a few things. this is all well and good, particularly since the Co-op is only about four blocks away, but it was raining/freezing outside. no big deal, i thought, just strap on the shoe chains and walk on down the road. trudging through the ice-covered sidewalks, even with chains, was truly an arduous task. as i was about a block away from home, i saw this brilliant flash of light across the sky - first turquoise, then red. at first i really thought i was hallucinating or something, but then it happened again. it was so bright that it reflected off the newly-fallen snow/ice in front of me. it was completely indescribable. seeing as how it happened just near sunset, i figured it was some phenomena related to that. i watched the news and searched online for any mention of it and there was nothing. very weird indeed.

anyway, i picked up what i needed and headed back home only to realize that i'd forgotten cilantro. shit! everyone knows you can't make pad thai without a little (or in my case, a lot) cilantro. M, like the trooper she is, said that she would be fine without, but i wasn't having it. so, given the difficulty with which i made the trip on foot, i decided to take the SUV (Specialized Über Velo?). now, i realize ice biking isn't for everyone, but it sure is a blast! i made the trip in a fraction of the time and kept reasonably dry, thanks to the good ol' Freddy Fenders. to make this 2nd trip even more worth it, i picked up some hot thai peppers to go with the cilantro. dinner was tasty and spicy, just how i like it. i decided to go with tofu this time instead of chicken and was glad i did. not only did i not miss the chicken, but not having to completely sterilize your cutting board/knives is sooo nice. cheers!


(here's a quick snap of the snow rig outside the Co-oP. no time for composition or quality when there's thai to be made.)

saturday afternoon bliss out

every so often, i will set out on the bike with no particular destination in mind. with headphones and camera in tow, i'll just wander around and really take in the sights and sounds. i find this to be an activity best experienced alone. last saturday was just such an occasion.

boris

this is Boris. he's a muskrat (or is he a groundhog? - you be the judge). his name is taken from the Melvins song of the same name. i'm pretty sure he's the one who has been eating our tomatoes all summer, judging by the guilty look on his face (and the half-eaten green tomatoes he was nibbling on just before i shot this picture a few weeks back). he's rather overweight and furry and sort of reminds me of a rodent version of Smokey. i haven't seen him around since this pic was taken, so i hope he's doing well - wherever he is.

stc

here's a pic of Smokey doing whatever it is he does. wish i was doing that right now. i stayed up late last night trying to install fenders on my bike and i'm definitely feeling it this morning. i still couldn't get the rear one on right, but the front looks good. i'm hoping a little peaberry will change my outlook on the day. we shall see.

emperor tomato ketchup

here's a pic of the latest batch of tomatoes from the massive garden we maintained this year. we planted seventeen tomato plants, a mix of heirloom and non, six thai chili plants and two habañero plants. the first frost of the year will inevitably come sometime very soon, so we're probably nearing the end of garden season, sadly. the farmer's market is still going strong though. and then there's the dozen or so jars of tomatoes we canned a while back, just waiting in the basement for their time to shine. how nice will it be to crack one of those babies open this winter when everyone else has to make due with the stuff from the supermarket? very nice, that's how.

food court

in an earlier post, i said i would post follow up pictures of Mondough's renovations to the food cour...,er, i mean Ped Mall. well, here you go. the pics are of rather poor quality, but i thought that fitting. there, now don't you feel more "cosmopolitan"? i know i do.



i don't have anything further to say about it, so i'll just let you judge for yourself. it turned out just about as i thought it would. Here's the "before" photos for you to compare.

in an unrelated note, in the unlikely event you haven't heard the track "Paper Planes" by M.I.A., you should check it out, as it absolutely slays. i've been addicted to it for a while now. here's a video. you just can't beat a well placed Clash sample, now can you?

finally!

beer enthusiasts all across Iowa have been waiting for this moment for what seems an eternity, myself included. no need to fill the trunk of your car with six packs when you head out of state on vacation anymore, for New Belgium Brewing has finally begun distributing in our fine state.

i can't remember when it was that i first had a Fat Tire or a Sunshine Wheat, but i think it was probably sometime around 1994, possibly while on Dead Tour. i remember how exotic it all seemed to me then, particularly the fancy bottles and elaborate designs on the labels. since then, i think i've tried nearly all of their brews and can say without exaggeration that they consistently brew some of the very best beer in the nation. my personal favorites are the Sunshine Wheat and the Abbey Belgian Ale.

for the first few months they're only selling a few varieties, and only in the "bomber" (22 oz) bottles. the Fat Tire bottles have a special Iowa-related label that reads, "FIGBRAI", or Fat Inaugural Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, a reference to RAGBRAI. soon, though, they will begin carrying a greater selection of the beers, including six packs, cases and kegs. hooray!

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, (1942-2007). i raise my glass to thee.


oh, and extra points to the first person who can correctly guess the (specific) location of the first picture.