Saturday, May 31, 2008

Swedish meatballs

There are some things that just don't seem to go together very well, and yet some people like the combination, anyway. Take Swedish meatballs, for example. This is the classic dish to be made fun of in our household. Laurie likes it, but I just can't get over the thought of mixing ketchup, orange juice, and molasses in a meal. That's just wrong. So there you have it--things that shouldn't go together that someone put together, anyway, and someone else agrees that it isn't so bad together. But this mixing conundrum isn't confined to just food. Oh, no--you can mix all kinds of things that don't belong together. Like, say for example... oh, a cello quartet, and a heavy metal concert. Enter the Finnish bad, "Apocalyptica." This time Laurie thinks that the combination is absurd and that I shouldn't even let Mom know about it because she'd probably puke. I'm the one who likes it. Well, sorta'--I like the original songs and I think it's fun to hear them in cello, but watching the visuals is a bit too much to handle; it just reminds me of ketchup and orange juice. Still, I'd like to share, if for no other reason, I find the juxtaposition amusing. I think I'll make 2 posts, though: one for Mom and one for everyone else. The first one is for Mom. It illustrates the odd combination, but it's not anything as dramatic as post number two...




OK, did you like that one? Now try this one. If you're pressed for time, start 1/2 way through...



Laurie's theory (and I think she might be on to something here) is that these poor chaps were constantly picked on as kids because they played the cello. They continued playing because they were good at it and they enjoyed it, but one can only take so much abuse. They decided to try and prove that they could be as cool with a cello as all the guitar-playing bullies. And what better way to do this than to play their own music and beat them at their own game? ... the rest is history.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Rodrigo y Gabriela

We love those pictures below. Especially the first one of Ivy and May. Ivy looks so happy with her new treasure.

Recently Katie and I have been enjoying a guitar group that I think a few of you might appreciate. Rodrigo y Gabriela were originally members of a thrash metal band in Mexico City. They switched to acoustic guitar and moved to Ireland where their albums have gone #1. They are slowly gaining steam in the states. Hope you like them.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Here She Is!

Ivy holding May for the first time
All the ladies (man, does Chrissy know how to have babies or what? I think that she looks fantastic for having a baby less than 12 hours before this picture was taken)
Peter trying to entertain Rex in a small hospital room.
Ivy's last hold before we left.
Beautiful Baby May.
(Sorry if I pre-empted you on posting Peter and Chrissy)

Monday, May 05, 2008

Pajama Party

The Roanoke cousins had a pajama party last week while Peter and Chrissy went to the hospital early in the morning to have the baby flipped out of a double breech position. The baby had already flipped herself into position and so they didn't stay long. But I sure enjoyed getting morning cuddles from this trio. Jon treated us to pancakes before he left for work.


So I realize that with three (soon to be four) kids in a picture, someone is always going to look bad. This is Jackson's turn for not looking his cutest. Next time, one of Peter and Chrissy's offspring! Speaking of Peter and Chrissy's offspring, I got this cute picture when they came over this afternoon.


Oh, and the ice cream recipe that we used was from the ATK Family Cookbook. I can email the recipe to you Laurie (or Dave) if you don't have that book yet.

A tribute to Nestor

In order to really appreciate my post, you'll need to enlarge my picture by clicking on it.


If you don't get it, let me explain. If you do get it, there's no need to read on...
Shortly after we moved in, we used to park a mere 30 feet (give or take) from our door. It was very convenient. Then our beloved traffic engineer, Nestor Gallo, thought it would be a good idea to put no parking signs up so that we couldn't do it any more. There are so many reasons why this shouldn't have happened and don't get me started--I could go on for pages. Suffice it to say, that I wasn't happy. I called. I emailed. I got a petition and went to the city board to get rid of the signs, or at least to change it to something like "2 hr parking only" or something like that. I've been totally ignored ("for the people, of the people and by the people"? Bah!) and so naturally I'm all the more annoyed, esp. when I get home late and all the good parking spots are gone and I find myself parking a few buildings away.