Summertime Remix

A ton of fun stuff has been happening this summer, and here are some of the highlights...

On July 3rd members of my family and I attended Symphony on the Prairie, where the Indianapolis Symphony plays outside at Conner Prairie. It was so great. There were thousands and thousands of people there, enjoying one of the few non-humid evenings of the summer. After a wonderful performance of American-type songs there was a great fireworks display. This is a great event that everyone should go see.

After the July 4th fireworks we conducted an official IPA- off. Contenders: Bell's Two Hearted Ale and New Belgium's Ranger. At the taste-off Crystal, Chad and I all sided with the Bell's, and Phil preferred the Ranger. But tonight, when I drank one of each again, I think I might be shifting to a Ranger preference. It just took me about 10 tries to spell 'preference' correctly.

A few weeks ago Crystal, Chad, Phil, and I were sitting on the back porch. Crystal mentioned having recently read about a taco truck in a parking lot in Broad Ripple, so we took off in search of said tacos. They were good and beefy and spicy, and got us out to Broad Ripple on a Saturday night! It was pretty fun, really-- not the jerk-fest I'd always thought it would be. Well, there were certainly lots of jerks around, but we had fun walking about and drinking at a dive bar where they played Punk Rock Girl by the Dead Milkmen.

This is my favorite pie to eat and make. It's peach-blueberry with cayenne and brandy. It's not a pie for wimps. We had this just before going to Broad Ripple for tacos.

And this is right now. Chad and Crystal are in Fort Wayne for the night, so I have both dogs here with me. They are doing their best to constantly keep tabs on one another while seeming non chalant about it. This is a skill upon which they could improve. What I love most about this picture is that their little paws are touching. How cute!

An Essay

Why I Love the Show Mad Men

by Erin Anderson

From the first episode of the first season of Mad Men, I was head over heels. I was hesitant to watch Mad Men because it gets too much praise, but it turns out it's totally worthy. I've been trying to determine why I like this show so much, and it seems there are four reasons I'm so into Mad Men.

1. It's aesthetically pleasing. The actors are perfect. The main guy, Don, and his wife Betty are as attractive as people come. Who doesn't like to look at pretty people? The people in the office are perfect, from the squirrely young guy with questionable morals to the Marilyn-esque office manager. And the clothes they all wear are gorge. I've always loved 50s/60s style, and this show takes authenticity very seriously (it seems to this person born in the 70s). Also, the sets are great. I love the Drapers' home, with it's plaid kitchen wallpaper and padded headboard.

2. I think one thing that makes this show so different is it's understated nature. Things nowdays are so loud and bright and quick; I hate that stuff. I just looked up 'understated' on thesaurus.com and I'm seeing words like 'simple,' 'classic,' 'elegant,' 'restrained,' 'low key,' and 'subtle.' Those are all words I love, and all words that describe the quite demeanor of Mad Men.

3. Mad Men is a very adult television show. In every scene someone's drinking, smoking, or cheating on a spouse. Often all three. The great thing about all this debauchery is that understatedness. Also, it's adult in a way that I think would bore a younger audience. The issues faced in the Draper home or in the offices of Sterling Cooper are mature issues-- social change, family problems, workplace politics.

4. I love the mindset of this era, the need to keep up appearances. Private life is private, and it's nobody's business. That's all I need to say about that.

So, go rent seasons 1-3. Season 4 begins at the end of July on AMC. I need to work out a deal with my aunt so she'll let me come over to watch it, since I don't have cable.

Summer Solstice

Of course it's important to stay hydrated when it's hot out. To celebrate the longest day of the year I uncorked a bottle of Summer Solstice from Turtle Run Winery (Corydon, IN). Quite tasty and refreshing on this long, humid day.

This is the peapod and seafood stirfry I did. Garden onions satueed with garlic, add the seafood medly mix from Trader Joes (a frozen bag of raw shrimp, bay scallops, and rings of calamari), toss in peapods and add a bit of stir-fry sauce and voila! Super yummy.

And here's the Thai salad Phil made for himself yesterday... he spoke highly of this, and it looks and sounds really great. He compared it to nachos... every bite is different from the previous. One bite is lime-cucumber, the next bite is chicken-sesame-celery, etc. Looks like a great summer meal!

Yam Gai

4 inches of cucumber

2 skinless chicken breasts

3 small celery stalks (finely sliced)

3 Scallions thickly sliced

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

3 red or small green chilies thinly sliced

1 tablespoon fresh mint finely chopped

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons sesame oil

cut the cucumber in half and scrape out the seeds, cut crosswise and then cut each piece into matchsticks

poach the chicken breasts then shred then add all the ingredients and mix. Mix all liquid ingredients prior to adding into the bowl.

Summer's Here!

Gratuitous shot of my off-the-charts adorable dog. He loves to travel. This pic was taken on the way to his vacation with his favorite dog-sitters. C'mon, look at this guy!!!

The garden at Mom and Steve's is starting to produce and look beautiful. Steve is letting some of his leeks and onions go to bloom/seed to see what will happen. They look really cool.
I made a delicious dinner (to be pictured next time) from garden onions and pea pods. I'm not always a fan of pea pods, but you can't go wrong with straight from the garden. I was at Mom and Steve's for a couple hours yesterday afternoon and enjoyed pulling up the pea plants and finding the last of the pods. Delish!

They do three green bean arbors in their garden, which are starting to fill in nicely.

The summer is officially completely booked-- there is some commitment every weekend between now and October. I think I have about one weekend a month in FW, though, so I can visit the garden. And my family, but the garden too. Also, We got tickets for a Tincaps game, which is very exciting. We went a few times last summer and had so much fun, and this year's game will be the start of our mini-vacay... the day after the game we'll go up to the Lauer's lake for a few days. Last year Henry was a hoot at the lake, so I expect much doggy cuteness again this year.

Of course, can't wait for the summer to zing by, since that means it'll be closer to the time when Phil gets to move here. Also it means maybe I'll be able to turn of the a/c!

It's Not the Heat, it's the Humidity...

Yeah, right. It's hot, it's humid, it's (almost) summertime. I'm not here to complain about the insane weather we've had of late... well I kinda am, I guess. Giant severe storms! Super uncomfortable temps! I don't like it!

Every Saturday and Tuesday or Wednesday they have live music at Easley Winery, but last weekend's performance was ill attended. Maybe because it was so HOT and HUMID! The guy played good songs, though, and was fun.

It was so hot and humid that we couldn't stand to stay outside, which meant Italianfest and Fulton Street Art Fair will have to wait 'till next year, so we went to Brugge for incredible mussels, frites, and microbrews. This was a dark, hoppy beer called Deep Dark Secret. Mollie and I had hanger steaks and Dad had the mussels steamed with chilis, cilantro and garlic.

German Heritage

My grandmother loved enjoying a good, dark beer at Germanfest, so after the funeral several of us went to Headwaters to raise a glass to Gram.

Mom

Miles and Janette

the Kaduks

a few Hague men

I haven't been able to spend too much time with my step-sibs and their families, so I considered this afternoon to be a treat. Now that I live closer, I look forward to spending more time with my extended family.

Goodbye, Grandma

My grandmother was her own person. She enjoyed traveling, socializing, and bargain-hunting, but most of all she enjoyed her independence. For as long as I can remember she insisted she never wanted to be a burden in old age, so I guess she left this life the way she wanted-- in her own home.

I thought we had many more years with her, but I guess lots of people think that when they lose someone special. In the past five years I traveled lots of places with Grandma-- California, New York, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, and she always kept up with whatever I wanted to do. She probably even took a walk before I woke up most mornings.

Also, she always, always made sure we were taken care of. And she was happy to welcome new people into the family, from friends and boyfriends to the step-kids of her step-grandkids.

This picture was taken in 2005, when Mom, Gram, and I visited several wineries in/around Santa Barbara, California.