Litlibaer (Westfjords, Iceland)

Just up the road from the seal colony is Litlibaer, a historical 19th century farmstead. Not only is it a charming home with historic photos and tools, but they serve coffee and waffles! Just the restorative lunch we were looking for after a long drive.

Here you can see the traditional turf roof on the farmhouse. It also included both stone and wood construction.

The rooms were quite small, with low ceilings -- very cozy. We ate at the table by the window and enjoyed looking at the photos of family members who had lived at the farmhouse over the years.

A small pantry area next to the stairs included a variety of historic kitchen tools.

Q is enjoying his coffee and waffles.  (Not being a coffee person, I had hot chocolate.)  The waffles were heart-shaped and topped with jam and whipped cream -- quite delicious!

A ladder to the attic revealed two more (small) rooms, each with tools and materials presumably from the 19th century work at the farm. Wool is a major Icelandic product, so spinning would have been a common activity.

More antique tools were displayed under the attic window.

And, of course, I had to take a photo of this beautiful antique sewing machine. It's all set up with thread and everything! I managed to resist the temptation to do some sewing.

Next up: The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft

More to see in Reykjavik, Iceland

(Just as a heads-up -- this post includes a discussion of phalluses, as well as some pictures of preserved animal phalluses.  And ancient books.  And political art.  There is also mention of food and a spa.)

Old Town (Prague, Czech Republic)

Lokál (Prague, Czech Republic)

Our first night in Prague, we had dinner at Lokál, a restaurant/beer hall which features Czech cuisine. It was very loud and a bit smoky (even in the non-smoking section), but the food was tasty. The table next to ours was celebrating some special occasion, perhaps a birthday, as they brought a cake as well as ordering lots of beer. Sadly, they didn't offer us any cake.

I liked the designs scratched into the wood paneling (lit from behind, they glowed). We decided this might count as an example of sgraffito (a Renaissance technique of creating designs by scratching into a surface to reveal a different color or tone underneath).  Both Q and I remember doing crayon sgraffito as children; I put down colored crayon markings and then covered the entire page with black crayon (a tedious process that kept me occupied for some time -- looking back, I can see why my mother encouraged this activity).  Then I used a pin to scratch through the black crayon, revealing the colored crayon underneath.  Sgraffito!  (I wonder, would reverse appliqué be a kind of textile sgraffito?)

Church of Our Lady Before Týn

After our dinner, we wandered around the Old Town (Staré město) area, walking by In Utero, a large sculpture of a pregnant woman, one of the many David Černý sculptures in and around Prague.

We found our way to the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí), which has been Prague's main public square since the 10th century. We walked through the square virtually every day we were in Prague, and it was always full of people. We saw a variety of musicians as well as some dancer/contortionists, in and amongst the throngs of tourists. That first night we were treated to a women's chorus (which brought back fond memories of when I sang with the Anna Crusis Women's Choir), although I have no idea what the women were singing, as it was (presumably) in Czech.

The Church of Our Lady Before Týn, with its Gothic spires, was not only dramatic at night and beautiful inside by day (no photos allowed, alas), but it also provided a terrific landmark to orient us as we walked around Old Town. The church was built in the 15th century. The interior is Baroque in style and contains the tomb of Tycho Brache, the famous Danish astronomer who died of a burst bladder, being too polite to leave the royal table to relieve himself. Let that be a lesson to you.

Continuity

Results of the baking frenzy of 2011

I don't know how it all started.  Maybe it was the holiday visit to my high school boyfriend's family.  I baked cookies to bring as a gift.  But they'd like a variety of cookies, surely, so I'd need to make different kinds.  Somehow I ended up surrounded by tins of cookies -- far too many, really.  Was it then that I thought to give the extras to my friends?

It really snowballed in college and graduate school.  I became well-known for my cookie baking:  More and more of my friends asked to be on my holiday cookie list.  I spent days baking to make enough for everyone.  I hunted for new recipes, bored by the old standbys.  After final exams were over, I'd immure myself in the kitchen, surrounded by flour and butter and sugar, in marathon baking sessions that left my feet aching from the hours of standing, my hands wearied from mixing and rolling. An enjoyable pastime had become an exhausting mandate. 

Decorated by Q (2012)

Exuberant enthusiasm and concomitant excess

So often we are advised to practice moderation.  "All things in moderation," they murmur, urging us to sample pleasures in small portions.  We are assured that excess is bad; after all it is, well . . . excessive.

I've never been good at moderation.  I'm full of bubbling enthusiasm that inspires me to fling myself wholeheartedly into one activity after another.  I go from a passionate pursuit of teaching perfection to months of extreme gardening only to then throw myself into a grandiose creative project.  There is no temperate jogging for me -- I'm always running full-tilt.

I've never forgotten some words of wisdom my undergraduate class received during our college orientation.  We were urged to pursue our passions intensely.  If we enjoyed a writer's work, we should read everything we could find by that author.  If mathematics intrigued us, we should immerse ourselves in the study of mathematics.  I found this advice deeply compelling.  The idea of plunging headfirst into something, letting it take me over completely, fit my approach to life.  Moderation be damned!  If we are going to do something, let's really go for it, fully and without reservation.  I wanted to meet life with exuberant enthusiasm, not cautious reserve.  Indeed, in my first year of college one of my friends gave me a sign that reads, I Am Subject To Bursts of Enthusiasm.  I have it on my shelf today as a badge of pride. 

Sex and cookies

Yesterday's Psychology Brown Bag was great fun, as always. I posed the question of why gender equality and feminism are associated with higher sexual satisfaction for men and women than male dominance (e.g., patriarchy). There were great suggestions and questions from the students and faculty in attendance. We talked about the effect of gender roles, sexual scripts, education, relationship factors, communication, and more. We discussed the continued impact of gender roles in the U.S. -- for example, do heterosexual women feel comfortable asking men out, or are men still doing most of the initiating? It was a terrific discussion, and my closing comment was that they should go forth, be feminist, and have great sex. Better living through science. ;)

We also had light refreshments, because I think food makes for better conversation. Some of it I buy at the grocery store -- fruit, sunflower seeds, hummus, carrots, chips. Some of the food I cook. I usually make a batch of pasta with basil pesto -- this is the pesto we make from our own garden, according to my partner's family recipe, and it gets rave reviews. And then I bake some cookies or cupcakes or quickbread, as I'm a big fan of sweets.

By far, the most popular cookie I have ever made (and I've been doing this for a long time) is Seven Layer Cookies. I've had people propose marriage after tasting these cookies. I often make them for events because, in addition to being tasty, they are quick and easy to make. I got this recipe from my friend Becka in high school. She wrote it on the back of a flyer for Duff's Business Institute (which encouraged you to make a collect call to get career advice -- always suspicious); strangely enough, this flyer fits into my recipe card file perfectly. I made the cookies with Becka at one point, and her main advice was to make sure to get the condensed milk into the corners of the pan. I've come up with a few additional suggestions over the years -- it's easier to use boxed graham cracker crumbs instead of mushing up graham crackers into crumbs, for example, and greasing the pan facilitates the cookie removal after baking.

So many people have asked me for this recipe that I figured I would share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Seven Layer Cookies
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 stick margarine or butter
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 oz. butterscotch chips
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 1/2 cup coconut (I use the sweetened kind that comes in a bag, not a can)
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (if you chop them small, they will be more likely to stick to the cookies and not fall off) [I consider this ingredient optional -- I often make these cookies without walnuts and they are just as tasty]

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 inch pan. Melt the margarine or butter, and mix with the graham cracker crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan, making sure it covers the entire pan evenly. Sprinkle on the coconut, then the chips, making sure that they are evenly spread over the crust. Then pour on the condensed milk so that it covers everything (don't forget the corners!). Sprinkle on nuts. Place in oven (350 degrees F) for 30 minutes, until the top is light brown (the edges will be dark brown, crystallized, almost burnt looking). Take out, let cool. Cut into bars with a sharp knife. It's easier to get the cookies out of the pan if you cut around the edges of the pan first, and then cut into bars. These are pretty rich, so you might want to cut them into small bars (I usually cut them into 24 or 32 pieces, depending on my mood). If there are any left, store in an airtight container.

So now you can have satisfying sex and cookies afterwards! Just don't get crumbs in the bed.

Karmic muffins

Periodically, I give baked goods or other foody gifts to our neighbors. It just seems like a nice thing to do, particularly since we ask them to take in our mail or watch the house while we are away. Last summer, for example, I made tons of blueberry muffins and gave them to all of our (close) neighbors. Yesterday, our neighbor across the street came by with her son to bring us homemade banana muffins (with vanilla frosting and colored sugar, no less!). The bible says “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days” -- a way of saying that good deeds will bring you benefit. Well, I guess I cast my muffins on the waters, and they were returned with frosting!

We ate the karmic muffins, and they were delicious.

Highlights of 2008

So what did I do in 2008? In no particular order (and I'm sure I'm forgetting things):

• In addition to my regular teaching schedule at Montgomery College, I taught a section of General Psychology at Georgetown (Spring & Fall semesters) and in the Winter 2008 session at Montgomery College (with a wicked flu the entire time -- blech!)
• Continued to refine my teaching and try out new assignments and classroom activities
• Became a faculty contact for the Writing in the Disciplines program at MC
• Organized a conference panel about writing at AFACCT, and gave two presentations about writing at MC
• Coached the Vagina Monologues at MC (was this my fourth time?!?)
• Continued to organize the Psychology Brown Bag series at MC, and gave two talks as part of the series: Lusting in Your Heart: What do your feelings say about you? and Viagra: The Solution, or Part of the Problem?
• Wrote an Ask the Sexpert column for the student paper on whether homosexuality is natural
• Had a panel presentation accepted to the Mid-Atlantic Women's Studies Association conference
• Continued to be the faculty advisor for the People's Alliance club, which met fairly regularly and put together a display for the Health Fair at MC -- they did a great job
• Organized the annual silent auction to raise funds for the Women's Studies Student Scholarship Fund at MC -- put up advance pictures online for the first time
• Went to Boston to visit a friend who showed us around the city and was a wonderful hostess
• Got to see my father sing the Major General song on stage at George Mason University (with full orchestra and chorus backup, including a verse he wrote himself about academia)
• Went to my father's talk at GMU about writing over 100 books (wow!)
• Became a regular at the local farmer's market (during the growing season)
• Gardened extensively: Put in my vegetable garden and various annuals, did my regular maintenance, and began putting in new paths in the garden (well, Q did most of it, really, but I helped)
• Watched the bunnies and birds in our yard -- ooh, and I saw deer, and a fox, and a woodpecker while at my father's house
• Cooked and baked with the wonderful summer produce and helped Q make our usual summer pesto; discovered some new recipes, including delicious blueberry muffins and and raspberry coffeecake
• Made pizza from scratch for the first time -- and it was yummy!
• Finished painting the basement, including the finishing touches on the peach pit (the stairs) and the bathroom (with its violently orange faux finish and a lovely sump pump cover that Q built)
• Started painting the bedroom (still in process, but it looks fabulous so far)
• Researched and purchased a new washer and dryer and a new refrigerator (more energy efficient -- yay!)
• Went to Quebec for a wonderful vacation, which included climbing a mountain (with only moderate whining and gasping), seeing whales, eating sugar pie, and going to some cool museums, including a terrific exhibit of Inuit art and an exploration of the historical layers of Montreal buildings
• Continued my dance education with regular classes with Yasmin, Turkish workshops with Artemis, workshops with Leila from Egypt, and going to Folktours Dance camp and the Herdeljezi Festival
• Put on three Starlight Shimmy shows at the New Deal Cafe
• Created some new dance performances, including some new comic fusion pieces, but also stretched myself to create more emotional depth and explore some new aspects of dance
• Continued to dance at local gigs, including restaurants and private parties, and did some substitute-teaching that has led to an ongoing teaching opportunity
• Went to a number of dance shows (too many to keep track of!)
• Went to Wisconsin to visit my grandparents, and put on a dance performance for their community
• Sewed: Finished a jacket, finished beading a costume belt, and made progress on a couple of other projects
• Saw Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead with stellar performance by
• Saw Kooza, my first experience with Cirque de Soleil -- amazing!
• Saw a performance of the Song/Dance Ensemble of West Africa
• Saw a local performance of the Pirates of Penzance that included a very effective use of trampolines
• Went to a couple of Batala performances, and they were fabulous
• Did a lot of walking and increased my use of public transportation to get to work
• Read a lot of books (and articles), including both fiction and non-fiction
• Saw some good movies (and some not so good movies, too); I was also a discussant for two film presentations at MC (Secretary and Chak De! India)
• Began a Facebook account
• Had semi-weekly brunches with my father
• Got to see my brother and his family a number of times -- my nephew and niece are great kids
• Spent lots of time with my sweetie and with good friends -- many thanks to all of you for being such good friends

It was a busy year!

End of summer

To me, summer begins and ends with basil. Summer isn't really underway until I put the basil plants in the garden. They grow all summer, and fresh basil is in many of the dishes I cook throughout the summer. Every month or so, I do a big harvest and Q makes pesto. Then, in the fall, it starts to get cold, and I pull in the last of the basil for our final pesto session. That signals the end of the summer to me. Usually, it's in October, which is long past summer -- it's almost the middle of the fall semester, after all! But I can cling to my dreams of long summer days as long as there is basil in the garden. When I (reluctantly) admit that the basil season is over, I can no longer deny that summer is truly over. Sure, there are still tomatoes in the garden, but it's just not the same.

Today, we made the last of this year's pesto. Summer is officially over.

Summer bounty and a cooking frenzy

It's the bountiful harvest time! (Most of) Tuesday's garden harvest:
Four different types of tomatoes (and the Roma tomatoes haven't even ripened yet), two types of eggplant (the round orange ones with green stems look like tomatoes, but they are eggplant), golden raspberries, and one cucumber. I also picked blackberries, but gave them to our neighbors. But what to do with the rest? Well, I tried my hand at making homemade pizza for the first time. I've always been intimidated by making the crust, but Q swears it isn't hard, so I figured I'd give it a go. I made four small pizzas (California style), using a whole wheat crust. Two were eggplant (using the small purple eggplants), goat cheese, tomato sauce (homemade by Q two years ago), and mozzarella:

And two were fresh tomatoes (the three types of cherry tomatoes), fresh basil (from the garden, but not in the above picture), and fresh mozzarella:

They were both very good (I think the eggplant one came out especially well), so I count my first pizzas as a success. They take a long time to make, though, so I doubt this will be a regular activity. I also made a lemon-raspberry quickbread:

I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say whether it came out well or not. And I made another batch of blueberry muffins (probably the last blueberries from the farmer's market for the summer), and last night I made banana cupcakes. I'm planning a blackberry coffee cake, as well. I think I need more people to eat all this stuff! Lunch, anyone?

Fragments of my life

• I finally finished painting the basement bathroom. It is a VERY BRIGHT orange color with yellow glaze ragged on over it (actually, ragged off). This room glows in the morning -- it looks like a light is on even when it is not. Q did a great job building a much nicer sump pump cover and moving the pvc pipe to give us room for shelves. I even painted the pvc pipe to match the walls, so it isn't so glaring. I got a little orange and yellow rag rug that matches the color scheme from Etsy. I even replaced the shower head, although we still need to find a suitable shower curtain. So that room is mostly done, and I keep going by to look at it -- it makes me smile.
• The house is remarkably clean at the moment -- we had an out-of-town guest last weekend and I did a major housecleaning. I wonder how long it will last.
• I am two weeks into teaching my five-week summer class. My second class got canceled, due to low enrollment, so I have more free time than I expected. This is a wonderful treat, and I am enjoying it.
• I am beading the fringe on the black and silver bellydance belt that I have been hand beading for years. I enjoy this process, but it is very very SLOW. And when the belt is done, I still have to work on the bra and accessories.
• Our summer pesto factory officially opened today. I did a major harvest of our basil plants, and Q made 9 batches of pesto. We haven't even finished last year's pesto, yet -- our freezer is full of pesto!
• The garden is a jungle, as always -- the tomato plants are huge and entangled with the berry canes, and the front garden is in desperate need of weeding. I find it hard to work in the garden when I am constantly being attacked by hordes of mosquitoes. I have never found an insect repellent that really works, and I am unwilling to use insecticides in the garden. What I really want is a Rent-An-Insectivore service, where handlers bring in critters to eat the bugs. For mosquitoes, it would be trained bats, for ants it would be anteaters, for crickets you could have hedgehogs. The handlers would bring in as many insectivores as you need for as long as it takes to reduce the population to a reasonable level (keeping them in your yard in whatever way is cruelty-free and appropriate), and then they would go on to the next patron. Wouldn't that be an eco-friendly solution? And then I could venture out to pull the weeds and pick the tomatoes in relative peace.
• I've been working on building some "greener" habits. I think I am a bit more mindful and aware of my choices, but I find that these habits often require a lot more time, and I'm not sure whether that is something I can reliably maintain when my workload is high. I'm figuring that anything I manage to do is better than nothing, so I just try to be cognizant of my choices.
• Movies I have seen recently: Wall-E, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Notorious Bettie Page, Provoked
• I taught a bellyrobics class (subbing for a friend), and it was more fun than I remembered. It made me think about trying for a regular dance teaching gig again, but I probably don't have enough space in my schedule.
• I made a batch of orange muffins today from a new recipe, and I didn't care for them -- too much oil, I think. What do you do with something you cooked that came out badly (or at least, not to your taste)? Do I feed them to the birds, or anonymously fob them off on coworkers?

I now return you to your regularly scheduled activities.

Muffins and vampires

I have been on a muffin-baking kick recently -- I like muffins, and they are easy to make. They also freeze well, so I can keep them indefinitely (a quick microwave and they taste fresh from the oven). I've gotten most of the recipes from Google searching, and they have turned out well so far. I have made a couple of batches of strawberry muffins (very yummy way to use the strawberries from my garden, supplemented by some from the farmer's market), and tonight I made lemon-raspberry (used up some frozen raspberries) and lemon-blueberry (same recipe, just different fruit). Next up is maple muffins (in honor of our Canadian vacation) and orange muffins. Whee!

Today's puzzle: If a vampire sneezes, what comes out? Some of the vampire stories have vampires cry bloody tears and sweat blood, indicating that all of their bodily fluids become blood or some dilution thereof. But are vampires just a different physical being, a transformation of human species to vampire species, or are they magically re-animated walking corpses (or even demon-ridden as claimed in Buffy and Angel)? Do they actually digest and excrete, or are such physical considerations irrelevant?

What do you think?

Candy creations

I like these funky marzipan creations that I saw on Craftzine. Check out Bobo and George the Dead Clown at the bottom of the gallery. Alas, the bakery is in Belgium, so I can't buy one for Q.

Rugelach

I have discovered the danger of rugelach. Why did no one tell me? It's ok, though . . . they're all gone now.

Let us never speak of this again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Feast and family -- what could make the day better?

Thorax cake

Some things look just too disgusting to eat.

It was a good day

I kicked off this semester's Psychology Brown Bag series today with a talk entitled Gay, Bi, Lesbian, or Straight? Sexual Orientation is Not Categorical. The brown bag series was my idea, and I organize it each semester. This is our second semester of the series, and they have been really well-received and well-attended. I buy the food (usually way more than we need -- I can't help it!), set up the space, organize the speakers, do the advertising, and so far, I've also been a speaker both semesters. Today's talk went really well -- lots of students and faculty came, and the larger conference room was a good choice, as it was full but not too overcrowded. I kicked off the talk with the data from some of the major sex surveys -- Kinsey, NHSLS, NSFG, etc., along with some cross-cultural and historical data, about the ways in which identity, behavior, desire, fantasy, and love can diverge. Example: A recent study of more than 4000 men in NYC found that 1 in 10 men who identify as straight had sex with a man in the last year. There were loads of questions and comments, and I only wish we could have stayed longer to discuss the issues. I was pleased that there wasn't any hostility, as the topic can evoke prejudice (e.g., many of the flyers were torn down).

And, as always, everyone loved the Seven Layer Cookies I made (nod to my friend B who gave me the recipe in high school -- thanks!). Plenty left over for Q to give them to a colleague -- yippee!

Taught my Human Sexuality class, which went pretty well. This class hasn't been particularly strong in discussion, but we had a vibrant discussion of the pros and cons of circumcision today, as well as the cultural equation of penis size and masculinity (and the role of pornography in perpetuating that myth), which was great.

I came home and visited with Q for a bit -- always wonderful.

Then off to my dance gig. Pretty big crowd there for a Monday night, and they were very receptive and enthusiastic (gosh, there were even a few tips, which is really rare there). I had a lot of fun and I was pleased with my dancing. I even got out a bit early, since the manager let me start 15 minutes early.

Came home and visited more with Q. Yay! Various web browsings later, I am off to bed. Future plans involve getting up early to get into work early to get some grading done before my first class.

Green tomato recipes?

In light of the freeze warnings, I pulled up the tomato plants yesterday. So now I have LOADS of green tomatoes, and no clear idea of what to do with them. I know there are green tomato recipes, like green tomato relish or pickled green tomatoes, or even green tomato pie, but I haven't made them, so I don't know which ones are good. Any suggestions?

The Pesto Factory is closed for the year . . .

Today's total pesto output: 22 batches of basil pesto
Hours Q and I worked in the pesto factory today: 6+ hours
Total current pesto supplies: Who can tell? We may exceed the recommended residential limit for pesto, but I think the foundation of the house will hold . . . for now. Anyone want to come over for dinner? ;)

Happiness

Things that make me happy:

• Rabbits in the back yard, including a baby bunny!
  
• Watching the third season of News Radio -- that show cracks me up. Speaking of funny, the seagulls in Finding Nemo -- Mine, mine, mine -- had me ROtFLMAO.
  
• New music set for my restaurant gig -- yay for new sets!
  
• Spending oodles of time with my sweetie.
  
• Being able to eat fresh vegetables from my garden -- yummy fresh peas and lettuce, and the most delicious strawberries I have ever eaten. And soon there will be tomatoes and zucchini, and blackberries and raspberries -- but I think the birds and rabbits will eat all the blueberries.
  
• Pretty painted walls -- the master bathroom is now an intense teal with lavender trim, and the basement bathroom will soon be orange. Other paint colors soon to come: Peach for the basement stairwell and green for the solarium. Whee!
  
• Carrot cake muffins -- new recipe, came out well, brought them to Habiba's Ghawazee workshop where the dancers ate them with glee. But there are still some left for me and Q -- yay!

There are many more, but that will do for today. I am listening to the rain, which is very cool, and I should go practice my new set some more. But shhhhh...Q is napping.