Lunchtime

Lunchtime

I spent an hour on lunch today, which is about average for my main meal of the day. Most days I toss random ingredients together and hope the result is edible, today was no different. However, apparently the clouds parted and heavenly light rained down at just the right moment, and Yea, Verily, edible bliss ensued. Because something so delicious demands to be shared, here’s the recipe. Enjoy:

Easy Bread & Awesomeness in a Skillet

“So Easy A Caveman Could Do It”-bread:
2 cups flour
1T oil
1/2C Water
1L Nalgene Bottle

Explosions of Awesomeness in a Skillet:
Garden Eggs (or eggplant/aubergine)
Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Agushi (neutral, adds protein. Dried squash seeds.)
Lime
Dried Mint
Oil
Salt

Stupid-easy bread:
Mix 1.5C flour with oil, add water gradually until it looks like bread dough. Divide into 8 balls. Chase cat off table, flour rolling area, roll balls into flat rounds with Nalgene bottle (hint: fill bottle half-way with water for added oomph). Cook in pre-heated, ungreased skillet for a few minutes, flipping half way.

Skillet Block Party:
Chop onion & garlic, put in hot pan with oil & salt - the floury bits from previous enterprises add flavour. Add diced garden eggs & tomatoes, cover. Clean up mess from making bread. Stir skillet, add dried mint sparingly because it’s bloody expensive from Accra. Squeeze lime, pick out seeds because you’re a doofus. Add salt again because salt & lime adds to the awesome. Stir. Turn off gas. Eat with bread.

OM NOM NOM NOM.

Computing by candlelight

Happy Halloween!

Callaway Photos

“Angry bird is ANGRY!” Why have I spent the week thinking in LOLisms? I dunno. I blame stress.

Oh wait, I’m not actually feeling stressed - which is weird because logically, in a situation like this one (closing in fast on huge life-changing events), Sara should find herself in meltdown imminent stage. Which isn’t the case now. What a pleasant surprise.

So. A few photos from Callaway now available; click on ANGRY BIRD. We were a few weeks too late to see anything more attractive than acres of greenery, but that was fine because I like to spend most of my time in the butterfly house anyway.

Lolcache

I was at Callaway Gardens most of today: geocaching, picnicking, butterflies, sun, hiking. Good day. Photos to come; I just had to post this one first.

Beginnings & Ends

When I was in Missouri I broke the news of my moving to Grandma. More about that day later. I planned on that day’s story being my next entry, but “Emo Dogwood” is going to cover tonight’s photopost instead.

On the way home from my trip I was hit with the reality of May being “just around the corner.” Up to this point, the month of May has always been my last mental speed bump in the road to Ghana. It floored me when I realized how very, very fast this next month is going to pass by. It feels as if this is the end of my Peace Corps Beginning (Chapter one: In which I am interviewed); it is also the beginning of my United States-dwelling End (Chapter two: In which I discover the true weight of 80lbs).

…but mostly, I titled this entry “Beginnings & Ends,” and usurped Grandma’s Story with Emo Dogwood, because something happened this week that signified the end of something much bigger, and not in a good way. Not an ending I expected, and not one I can define easily. Someone crossed a line to cause irreversible hurt, and my relationship with them was such that they were one of the last from whom I ever expected such an assault. I was cut loose feeling hurt, angry, confused. Shell-shocked into an anaesthetic fog.

I realize that was cryptic (and living up to the Dogwood’s namesake), but by telling everyone I tell no-one, satisfying the craving and repelling dichotomy that is my soul simultaneously. I can spill to Whimsi and lose frustration without gaining guilt for overburdening another. I will now move on, and we will never speak of this again.

Isn’t self-referential whining fun?

Which state am I in, again?

Seriously, I’m not entirely sure. I’m spending the week in this goofy little corner of the Midwest, where OK-AR-MO meet and mingle. I’ve crossed multiple state lines throughout the day. I’m pretty sure I’m in Arkansas right now. I’m here, by the way, for a lot of reasons — but having a week to travel with my mom and middle sister is a big part of it. I’ve got about six weeks before I leave, so we’re cramming in “girls’ time” where and when we can.

I’m posting this as my Photo-of-the-<insert time frame> not because it’s a strong shot, but because I totally love it. I had fun taking it and it is the photo that “began” this trip. I took it a few days ago as we crossed the Mississippi River, from Memphis into Arkansas. My sister was driving, my mom was in the passenger seat… and I was breaking multiple laws, hanging out the back window with my camera. Fun times.

Traveling with my new camera

I meant to post about my new camera before I drove off yesterday…but I didn’t. Now I’m sitting in Little Rock, in a hotel with wifi (that sounds weirdly like the title to a country song). The trip is unrelated to the camera, except that I’ll probably be back next week with a weeks’-worth of happy shiny photo posts.

The camera is a Canon Powershot S5 IS. I ultimately went with a P&S because on my mental pro/con lists, there were too many cons against upgrading to a DSLR. I still would like to as soon as I get back to the States, but in the end I’d rather take something cheap(er) and painless to the Wilds of Ghana. Thanks to everyone for the input, I considered it all and stockpiled the advice away for a rainy day.

Final note of interest; I was this close to getting an S3, solely because the CHDK firmware hadn’t been ported for the S5 yet — but literally the day I was making my “final decision” the CHDK page was updated with an S5 port. Sweet!

Lightning ate my Intarweb

(Really.)

Last night’s awesome thunderstorm produced an amazing lightning display — one element of which blasted a hole in my neighbor’s yard (also, REALLY!). The aftermath took out one of our older computer’s power supply… and our cable modem. Thankfully nothing else was affected, but it will be Tuesday before we get a new modem. So for now, I’m contenting myself with wardriving on College St, where, if you missed my Twitter saying the same: I have thirty two available networks. Wow.

Because of the internet troubles, this is yesteday’s PotD. Nothing for today.

For this one, I bribed my sister to pose: I offered some of my Blacks in exchange for taking dozens of photos. She’s legal to buy her own, no worries there, she’s just broke. I’m still working on the technical aspects of this kind of shot, but I like the way this one turned out.

PotD: something…blue?

If I keep up this Photo Of the <insert time frame> thing, I’m going to have to come up with something better for the post titles.

Today was another long day of running errands, etc, with my mom — I’m not complaining about that or anything, in fact I really appreciate the time we’ve spent together lately. Just not much opportunity for “interesting” photography when your shopping/sitting in doctor’s offices/visiting people/driving around. Or maybe there is, I’m just not able to see it. Yet.

In any case, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Highs in the 80s, winds out of the east at 10 mph, broken clouds in an incredibly blue sky, no rain falling but the taste and smell of it in the air: the kind of weather that makes animals and people alike restless. My favorite kind. This was taken in the parking lot of Hasting’s — picked up Sweeney Todd.

Photo of the day

My mom played copy-cat and had hand surgery a few days ago, so I spent today playing her chauffeur. We went from the doctor’s office to grocery shopping to lunch at Panera… I took my camera because I had a feeling it would be a long day. I took an ungodly number of pictures, narrowed it down to three favorites-of-the-day, and decided to post this one.

I had fun running around Sam’s Club with my camera while my mom shopped — I got a lot of weird looks and a few “what are you doing?” comments. One person even gave me a nasty frown. Fun times. This was on the wine aisle: Cardinal Zin is a decent Zinfandel with an awesome label. I bought a bottle a few months ago based on the label alone (I’m a total sucker for eye-catching product design). I almost didn’t post this for Today’s Photo but my sister liked it better than the pile of old railroad ties. Be thankful.