Spring is Coming

Here's my proof, right on the window sill:






Even the dead flowers are pretty:

Plantains and Potatoes--same difference?

So, I recently (meaning yesterday) learned that plantains are known as "potatoes of the air," as well as being in the banana family. It turns out that potatoes (the ones in the dirt) contain potassium in amounts comparable to that found in bananas. This doesn't make me want to start putting chunks of potato into my breakfast cereal, but it does make me feel better about making mashed potatoes for dinner. Maybe we should start calling potatoes "bananas of the ground." Actually, I think the French already call potatoes the apples of the earth...but that's comparing apples and bananas!

My view of NY...

I took this photo last March, on a bus ride to Boston. (To visit J & W and take their engagement photos!) I believe it's the view crossing the Williamsburg bridge in Brooklyn, overlooking a cemetery in Queens with the Manhattan skyline behind it. So that covers three of the five boroughs. I love the contrast of the tombstones and the skyline, the quiet and the motion, the blur of the moving cars and the smear on the window. The clouds and the snow and the sunset.

I had forgotten about this photo--there are a lot of photos I've taken that I haven't managed to sort through. Then last month a fellow alumni from my college photography program revived a tradition that we had there--an annual print exchange. In searching for a photo to give, I came across this. I really like it; I'm even making a second copy for my wall. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the number of good photos I found from the last year--I hadn't thought I'd been photographing that much. The person who received it in the print exchange likes it too--he says that he doesn't have any photos of the city displayed, and this will be perfect.

S'More!

I am currently suffering from a s'more obsession. I've had one other prolonged episode, when I was in college. Preparing them in the microwave wasn't cutting it, so I would hold them over the burners of the stove with a fork...

This time, I have discovered the joys of owning a toaster over. I have been making s'mores under the broiler. After much experimentation, I have decided several things:

-the toaster over solves the problem of how to get the chocolate to melt--you can put the cracker, topped with chocolate chips and marshmallow, on a pan and as the marshmallow crisps the chocolate will melt. Just be sure not to leave it in too long, or the cracker will burn.

-mini marshmallows work better than regular ones. Regular ones tend to puff up so much that they fall over, and only a little bit at the top is browned. Mini ones provide more overall crispiness. Although strawberry flavored marshmallows are an interesting idea, and are fun to eat raw, plain ones are better on s'mores.

-putting peanut butter on the cracker before adding the chocolate chips and marshmallows not only holds everything on, but also tastes great. (Not to mention adding protein.) Freshly ground pb is the best, and is even better when lightly toasted.

-fruit is another fun add-on. I have tried blackberries, which were good, and just recently pomegranate seeds, which are fabulous.

-using Anna's Ginger Thins instead of graham crackers is also a delicious, international, variation, and very Christmas-y.

We'll see how long this obsession lasts. It started on my birthday, when my roommate asked what dessert I'd like. I am on my 2nd bag of marshmallows, box of graham crackers, and bag of chocolate chips (although I tend to eat them all separately, too).

I'm noticing that a lot of my blog posts are about food...what does that say about my life?

Dreaming again

Do you ever dream that you are waking up? Sometimes, in the morning, when I need to get up but can't yet, I'll start to dream that I am waking up, getting out of bed, and going into the bathroom. But then I'll realized that the bathroom that I am in is very different from the real bathroom in my apartment. So I'll try it again. I'll get up, walk into the bathroom...no, still not right. When I slept in a loft bed I would be convinced that this time I really was getting up, going down the ladder, I could see each step, feel my body moving. But then I'd get to the bathroom, and it just wouldn't be right. I'd have to start all over. Sometimes I'll go through this 8 or 10 times before I really do wake up.

I reminds me of a nightmare I used to have as a kid, where I'd be in this huge house with lots and lots of rooms. I was lost and scared. So, I'd start to look for my parents room. "I just need to go up the stairs, to the end of the hall, the door on the left," I'd think. I wanted to wake up and really go to my parent's room, but instead I'd just try to go to it in the dream. It was the same helpless feeling, where I was trying so hard to really do something, knowing the steps to do it, but not being able to really get it done.

Once I dreamed that my bedroom, which is on the 4th floor of an apartment building, had a back door that lead out to a grassy hill. People were picnicking and enjoying the day. I wish that were true.

Today I'm 28

Well, actually it's 12:00 am, so technically yesterday I turned 28. I was telling my friends at dinner that I've already been telling everyone most of this year that I was 28, because I got mixed up. Which is really too bad, since I like the odd years better, and 7s are especially great, so I missed making the most of being 27. (Or at least thinking that I was. If you're following this, congratulations. I know it isn't easy.)

I've always loved birthdays. I hope that I always do. I think it's wonderful to progress--to start another year of life. It's also a great time to celebrate yourself, and pamper yourself.

It isn't quite the same being far from family for a birthday. Luckily I was with family a couple weeks ago, and had a joint birthday party with my aunt. My family tends to extend and re-celebrate birthdays anyway, making them last most of the month. It's a good tradition. Maybe I'll celebrate again at Thanksgiving.

Last Friday I went with a few friends to a dance concert as a birthday outing, and tonight two good friends and I had dinner together at a Moroccan restaurant. I announced that I wanted dessert since it was my birthday. Actually I always want dessert, but it was nice to have a good reason. R did tell the waitress, discreetly, that it was my birthday. So she put a candle in the scoop of ice cream on my piece of cake. But she didn't sing, which I appreciated. It was a nice, subtle touch.

Well, here's to another year. Tonight started out fabulously.

Some of the best portraits...

just happen.

These photos weren't taken with great lighting, or in a great location, or with any direction or styling on my part. We were just spending time together, and I happened to have my camera and got a shot. Even people who weren't there when they were taken somehow see a bit of the personality, love, and connection between the subjects (and the photographer.)

This first one was taken 2 years ago, when these two were newly engaged. They've now been married over a year.



This is much more recent, taken in June. J. and N. were engaged then, and K. is N.'s daughter. J. and N. just got married last Friday.



as J. said, "This is my life now." I'm glad that they are all a part of my life, too.