Crabby Weekend

So, we finally got to drive out with our friends to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to git us some crabs! Well, only one of our party had Maryland crabs (the others had snow crabs, clams, and veg options), but the day's adventure was enjoyed by all.

We meet up, sans bikes, at a halfway point, and then drove to Annapolis to walk around for a little bit before heading out to eat. After finding parking (in a 2 hour zone, where we were promptly noticed by what was probably the local parking Nazi resident), we headed down to the harbor in the center of town, where we were amazed at the size of the boats that were looking to dock in the public slips. Then, we walked over to the Naval Academy (which you can get onto- you just need an ID), where we saw a wedding at the chapel (complete with swords and bride getting smacked in the ass with sword) and the crypt of John Paul Jones, which is both eerie and refreshing (on a hot day, it is lovely cold!). After gazing at the quad, we headed back into town for some drinks at Phillip's seafood restaurant- okay place, but the view over the harbor on the outdoor seating was the best.

Then, we headed off over the 50 Bay Bridge to the Kent Island Narrows- where we were to engage some sea arachnids (aka, crabs) :

in battle with wooden mallets and paper covered table-tops. We went to the Jetty Dock Bar- if the screen pops up with a chick in a bikini, they are advertising for some event next weekend, and you will get the feel of the place. It is on a dock (as you can see, our food was right next to the water!) with picnic tables along the edges, and a Tiki Bar, covered, in the center. They also have a "beach" area- sand with tables and chairs, as well as a small indoors. If you happen to be on the Chesapeake Bay for the day on your boat, well, they even have places to dock your boat so you can come and eat!

The clientele was mainly local- I could see the place being a biker bar at times, but it was just a lot of tattooed workers, young people, and older women (not all of whom were wearing underwear, as some of us had to see) who were chasing very young men. Interesting to say the least!
The food was good- nothing stellar, but good seafood. We stayed for quite a well, enjoying the sun and the water, until a big breeze started blowing in. Then, we ended our evening by heading back to Annapolis for a beer (or ice cream- whichever you were hungering after) at a pub, discussing tattoos of Euclidean geometry with a St. John's student. The only bad thing- we asked for Boddingtons, and were given something that was either not Boddingtons, or something that was flat Boddingtons. I don't know which is worse.

A good day!

The Cabbage Patch

So, I got this lovely savoy cabbage at the farmer's market this weekend:

As the girl who sold it to me said, "Looks like there should be a Cabbage Patch Kid coming out of there!"

No, there were no dolls bursting out, but it did make a tasty pasta with a bit of bacon, garlic, onion, and parmesan cheese.

Pork Stir-fry

Made this one up, using food from the market, a yakitori sauce I love, and the pork tenderloin in the freezer.

Sauce: Yakitori (a Japanese sauce, mainly used for street vendor snack food- chicken and scallions on kebabs, grilled with this sauce)
You can make a larger batch depending on the size of your stir-fry- I doubled, but I had lots of stuff in there.
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c sherry (or sake if you have it- I don't)
garlic- minced, 1 or 2- I didn't use it in this recipe, because of the garlic scapes below. But, if you have no garlic scapes, add the garlic to this sauce.
ginger- a use jar ginger, pre mashed- a teaspoon or so
red pepper flakes- adjust the heat as you like it

Put all ingredients in a pan- bring to a boil, boil for a few minutes, and it is done. You can reduce it until it is thick, if you are using it for the kebabs, but for this dish, I let it stay thin.

Pork Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
Pork tenderloin (or just pork)- sliced thinly
Corn starch
Yakitori sauce
Oil- whatever type you like best for stir-fry- not olive oil
Onions- I like bigger chunks, but chopped is fine
Carrots- slices, about 3
Celery sliced, about 2
Garlic scapes- about 3, sliced like you would scallions
Green beans- cut in half and blanched
Rice- if you like; we used brown basmati

After you cut up the pork, coat it with some corn starch, as you would with flour. This will make the pork brown better, as well as thicken the sauce later.
Heat up the oil- add the pork, and cooked until nicely browned. During cooking, add a scoop of the Yakitori sauce, just to add some flavor to the pork. When it is browned enough (not necessarily cooked through), remove the pork to a plate.
Reheat pan- add more oil if needed. Add onion, carrot, and celery- fry up a few minutes. I like the crispy and brown, so I do this over high heat. When they get a little cooked, add the garlic scapes. Spoon in a bit of the Yakitori sauce. Cook a few more minutes, then add the pork back in, mix it up, and then, add the green beans. Mix it up; finally, add the rest of the Yakitori sauce- cook for a few minutes, while it thickens.
Voila! Done- enjoy with the rice, or alone.

Somewhat Sticky Lemon Chicken

Here is a recipe from Gordon Ramsay's "Fast Food"- I adapted it a bit to my tastes, but great recipe! It has nice sweet and salty tastes all mangled up together.

Ingredients:
Chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs- that's what I had. Use what you like. The recipe calls for a cut-up chicken)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Lots of garlic, smashed up (I used about 10 cloves- the recipe calls for a head of garlic)
Thyme sprigs- don't bother to take the leaves off. Leave them whole.
Sherry- one splash
White wine vinegar - a longer splash (real recipe calls for sherry vinegar- don't have it)
2-3 tbsp soy sauce- to taste
3 tbsp honey- just drizzle it when needed, don't measure
1 lemon, thinnly sliced, pits removed. Yes- keep the peel on.

Heat up the olive oil in a pan- add your chicken in, salt and pepper it (both sides when you turn it), throw in the smashed garlic, and the thyme sprigs. Cook- browning the chicken nicely. I used highish heat throughout cooking and it worked fine. When the chicken is browned, add the vinegar and let it cook for a few minutes. Then, add the soy sauce and honey- mix everything up so all pieces get a good coating. Add the lemon to the pan, cook a few minutes, then taste. Add more honey, soy, or vinegar, depending on your tastes. Leave cooking for about 10 minutes, or until you know the chicken is done and the sauce is reduced and "sticky"- or just thick.
Enjoy! We had potatoes and squash casserole (my family knows this one- squash/zucchini, cheese, breadcrumbs, milk- baked) to round out the meal.

Saturday Market- a Buckeye family tradition!

BrutusBuckeye and I enjoyed our Saturday morning ritual (when we are in town!)- we headed to the Reston Farmer's Market, which is about a ten minute walk from our home, through some wooded paths, along a lake (read: large pond).

The market is held on the Lake Anne Plaza- Lake Anne is a older (1960s), planned community, with a lot of condos surrounding the lake front, and shops and restaurants on the bottom floors. It is a neat place- I think it is meant to resemble a Mediterranean town center, but since it was built with 1960s materials of concrete and brick, it doesn't quite make you feel like you are in Italy, but it has a great vibe anyway.

There is a craft fair along the lake front every morning (some neat stuff- the coolest place has hand woven- on a loom!- towels and dishrags) and the Farmer's Market is held in the parking lot of the town center (better for the produce trucks to pull up to!).

We love going here- first, we get all local food, at prices that are cheaper than the grocery store (we already got everything we need for the week, except some milk, today), and second, the market is so vibrant and full of people, that it reminds me of all the markets we went to in France.

So, we usually walk over around 9am (we need to get there earlier now- the place is packed and some produce was already sold out!), and do our veggie shopping first. This week, the buzz word was berries! We got strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cherries, all of much better quality than the crap from California (the strawberries actually have a taste- not just the weak sugar water flavor of Driscolls). There will only be a few more weeks for the berries, so we will gorge on them (Brutus is in the kitchen making a strawberry lemon tart as we speak).

We also picked up new potatoes, fresh peas, zucchini, squash, radishes, onions, green beans, and garlic scapes. What? Garlic scapes? Well- these are the sprouts for garlic plants, that usually come out for about 3 weeks, before they flower. Here is a good site about what they are, a picture, and recipes. I think I will make a pork dish with some of them, then make pesto with the rest. They are the green curly things next to the peas, in the picture.

We also picked up quite a bit of meat- there are many local animal farms that sell at the market as well. They come with big coolers of vacuumed-packed, frozen meats. Today, we shopped at a vendor called Cibola Farms, from Culpepper, VA. They seem to specialize, right now, in buffalo and pork. So, we picked up a buffalo flank steak, some pork cutlets, pork sausage, and bratwurst. At another vendor, Valentine's Meats, from Orange, VA, we got some oxtail- I have always wanted to try this! So, we are set for the week- and the prices were the same or less than grocery stores.

We ended our shopping trip in our favorite way- breakfast on the plaza! We go to the Lake Anne Pharmacy, which has a lunch counter. For about $14.00, we have a full breakfast with coffee. The place also has Ecuadorian specialties, so we want to try some of those next time- the Huevos Rancheros look good, and they have some sort of pork dish, the spelling of which I will not attempt here.

We sit outside, and enjoy the bustling town- there is a fountain right next to the pharmacy that children swarm with their parents- it is a walk-in fountain, so it is fine that they are all over it. It just looks dirty to me!

And yes, we did have our meat with us during breakfast. And no, we did not have a cooler. But, it remained frozen- I just wanted to gross out my dear sister (who will insist on refrigeration for transporting meat, even if a store were next to her house- love you!). And yes, if you visit, we will have a cooler.

Now, we are washing and prepping veggies- some will need to be cooked soon, even if we eat them later this week.

Gosh, I love Saturday mornings!

Spring Veggie Stew

I made a spring veggies stew this week, using fennel, tomato, and shallot as the base. It turned out quite lovely- I'm not a huge fennel fan, yet when it was cooked into the broth, it added a very nice fresh, light flavor. There are also peas, carrots, and asparagus, and I used a pre-made veggie broth (actually, Wolfgang Puck's, since it was the cheapest!).

It had very little broth, so I am using the left-over veggies to make breakfast frittata- just egg whites, one yolk, and heat up the veg. Throw in some cheese, if it is that type of day.

Florida or bust...

Looks like it is "bust" for the Buckeye family trip to Florida!
Husband's client screwed up the class they were supposed to take, so we won't be venturing down to Clearwater Beach for a week in the sun.
So, we decided to take a weekend trip in July to celebrate our first wedding anniversary instead. We were thinking of going to Annapolis, since it is a great, walkable place- but too expensive if you want to stay where you can walk! Maybe we will do that in late winter or early spring, when the inns have cheaper rates.
So, I looked out in the Blue Ridge Mountain area, focusing in on Charlottesville, VA. I figured we can hike if we want, go to vineyards, and go to Montpelier (James Madison's estate), or even just check out Charlottesville. We won't do Monticello, as we are doing that during the Williamsburg trip.
Again, everthing that isn't a Red Roof Inn or Super 8 motel is just crazy expensive! I finally found a very reasonable Bed and Breakfast in Waynesboro, VA (30+ minutes west of Charlottesville), where will we will- Tree Streets Inn. It puts us in a good locale, and I already found some dining- local, cheap joint- South River Grill and Wine Shop- for one night, and for the anniversary celebration- The Ivy Inn Restaurant in Charlottesville, which features locally raised food.
Hopefully, this won't bust on us!

A Visit to John Paul Jones

Today, I went to Annapolis to train a fellow SAT teacher in the Verbal sections- he is going to be teaching the entire SAT in Switzerland for a month (tough, eh?), and was only originally a Math guy, but now does all sections.
My fellow teacher is also a Naval officer, who teaches at the USNA, so, I got to have a little tour of the place and the surrounding town of Annapolis- it was quite lovely! He told me all about the traditions of the campus (the best- there is this obelisk on campus that the "plebs"- newbies to the Academy- have to get a hat off of as a class. Sounds easy, right? Nah- they grease the whole thing! Sometimes it takes them over an hour or two to get the hat down. That is something worth seeing someday), and showed me some nice walks to take when I come again. It was a gorgeous day- bluest sky, hot sun, and a nice breeze off the water.
I was in Annapolis once before with my parents, and I forgot how "old world" the town really is- brick everwhere, and colonial style reigns supreme. BrutusBuckeye and I will have to take a trip there someday (probably in conjunction with Crabbin' Weekend) to walk around and do the touristy things.

Experiment of the Week

I received some mushy papaya while visiting my Grandmother on Sunday- she doesn't eat them, so I took them with me.
I decided to make a Papaya and Lime Sorbet- but I didn't have an ice cream maker. So, after searching the web and not liking too many of the suggestions (one was getting two coffee cans- one big, one little. Fill the little one with the sorbet, cover, and put into the outer one, and fill with ice. Roll back and forth for an hour on the floor. Yeah.), I tried something myself.
I pureed the papaya and lime juice (with some zest) and a half a cup of Splenda. Then, I put the mixture into a metal pan, and left it in the freezer. I stirred it every 20 minutes or so for about 1.5 hours, then I took it out of the freezer, put the mixture in the blender, and creamed it. I put it back in the freezer, and left it until we were ready to eat. Then, I left it our for about 10 minutes to thaw. It was pretty good- not as fluffy as sorbet- more like a mixture of a granita and a sorbet. I will try again with other fruits- raspberry, blueberry, when the season is right.
BrutusBuckeye did not like it. He is not a fan of papaya.
I am also going to use the papaya seeds for a salad dressing- will let you know about that!

The Return of the Salmon

For some reason, I've been off salmon. Just some flavour or scent was causing the nose-wrinkling effect in me...

However, it was on sale, and it was time to give it a go.

My darling husband and I are big Gordon Ramsay fans- more into the "F" word than Hell's Kitchen- and we like his cooking. So, I checked out his book, "Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy" from the public library, and it had a DVD with a recipe for Crispy Salmon. We watched the recipe being made, and went to work!

Here is a view of the product:

And here is our recipe-

1. First, the salmon sits on some Muddled Potatoes- Ramsay used crab meat in his recipe, but we are unable to afford that luxury, so we did without:

Small potatoes (I used Dutch creamers)- as much as you want
Olive Oil
Scallions
Salt/Pepper
Tarragon- fresh or dry, as much as you want (Ramsay used cilantro- without crab, I liked the tarragon better)
Sauce- Olive Oil, Water, Lemon Juice, Salt- mix it up in a squeeze bottle- play with the amounts until you like the flavor

Boil potatoes until tender with a fork, drain. You can peel them, but I was not going to peel Dutch creamers. Then, in another pot (not saucepan), heat up some olive oil (enough to almost cover the bottom), and add the potatoes. Let them get warm, then add some chopped scallions- I used two. Cook for another minute, then turn off the heat. Add some salt and pepper to taste, as well as the tarragon (chop the fresh tarragon up- just shake on some dry tarragon, but use less). Then, using either a fork (ours was not up to the task) or a hand-help potato masher, muddle up the potatoes, just crushing them until they explode a bit- don't mash, just crush. Then, squeeze the oil-lemon sauce over, check flavor, and adjust seasonings.

2. We put roasted leeks and cherry tomatoes around the potatoes and salmon. Ramsay just uses tomatoes, but whenever I can use a leek, I do:

2 leeks- cut into thin slices and rinsed of grime
Cherry tomatoes (a handful) cut in half
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper

Mix the tomatoes and drained leeks with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put on a tray in the oven at 400 degrees or so. Roast until slightly charred, more or less, depending on your tastes (I like the more charred version).

3. Crispy Salmon- we followed Ramsay entirely on this. BrutusBuckeye did the cooking- I did the sides and washed the pans.

Piece of salmon fillet- enough for the under you are feeding, skin on, scaled
Salt
Olive Oil
Pepper

Heat up the oil in a pan (deep saucepan- you will splatter a bit on this). Before you put in the salmon, put some deep cuts into the skin side of the fish, about 1/2 inch apart. Rub salt and olive oil into the slits. Put the fish into pan, skin down. Add pepper and salt on the top of the fish. Leave it alone until you see that the salmon has cooked halfway or more up the side. Flip it once and let it finish cooking.

Plunk some potatoes on the plate, surround with tomatoes and leeks, and put the salmon, skin down, on top of the potato. Squeeze some more of the olive oil and lemon sauce all over and mangia pure baby!

Winds a'blowin' capt'n

Well, we had some weather fun today in the Northern Virginia region!

I was outside, ready to tie up some tomato plants and dump some compost juice on them, not really noticing the weather, even though the sky was a dark grey. Suddenly, the trees next to the building across the way become misty and faded- I realized, that it was a shower of rain so thick, that it blurred out the colours of the tree. Then, to the left of the balcony, the trees literally exploded! They looked like a bomb had gone off behind them.

Not having any red shoes on and not having an Aunt Em, I ran indoors. I turned on the TV and learned that it was a fast moving storm of 58mph average which was sweeping through the area- also, there were thousands of lightening strikes all over the place. I closed up all the blinds (to hamper any tree limbs that might want to shatter inwards), and just listened.

It was over in about 20 minutes- but the next day, we drove around town, and there were trees down everywhere.

Freak storms seem to be the trend around here!

Balcony Gardening

So, this afternoon, I am going to compost and finish staking up my plants for the balcony garden that we are attempting this year.
Our garden:
1. Herbs- basil, parsley, thyme, sage, dill, tarragon, oregano, rosemary
2. Lettuce- an experiment. We have little sprouts now, both red and green leaf
3. Cherry tomatoes- 15 plants (a nice farmer heard my husband was in the military, so my smaller order got doubled for free)
That's it. We only have a 6x12 foot balcony, which also holds two chairs and two tables, so we were limited in our yearly production.
All is well- we lost one purple basil plant (never took really well), but everything else is flourishing. We just need to put a little more soil in the pots and compost. It is nice to sit outside and be surrounded by things you will eventually harvest and eat.

So, about that three month hiatus...

I am back, with a new template on my blog, and everything s0rt of updated. I suppose I just lost interest in writing about mundane things, that weren't even that exciting to me. Now, I have a job lined up (teaching Latin, high school, in a district with tons of tech in the classroom!), have worked my last weekend at crappy part-time job (still a few evening classes to go), and have some great summer adventures lined up. Look forward to:

1. Crabs and Bikes Weekend- with some friends of BrutusBuckeye, we will be biking (not the crunchy kind of biking- we will be on Harleys) out in search of crabs, seafood, beer, and...vegetarian options (we have one in the group- I fear that coleslaw, hushpuppies, and iceburg lettuce is all that she may hope to find) at an authentic "shack." We will be heading out to Harris Crab House, across the bay from Annapolis (where we may have to stop as well), for some paper tablecloths and hammers (though I am looking for clams!). It should be a good time.

2. Week in Largo, Florida- with BrutusBuckeye's work. He will have to do some training, but I will be tagging along to sit on the beach all day and do a ton of nothing. Note: this is not Key Largo (a mistake we already made), but Largo, which is near Clearwater and St. Petersburg, FL. We are hoping to get a kitchenette suite room, on the beach (or within walking distance) of Indian Rocks or Clearwater, so we can drag down some pots and pans and cook dinner (hopefully, seafood), saving some money. We are, as you guessed (due to my distaste of flying), driving down- we will have to find some cheap joints to stop on the way up and down, and maybe see Charleston or other coastal places in GA and SC.

3. Week in Williamsburg, VA with BrutusBuckeye's parents. We will be staying in a condo, and touring the Colonial town, Yorktown, Jamestown, plantations on the James River, and Monticello. For a dork, this is heaven! Also, we want to stop at the Williamsburg Vinery- we sampled their wines at a local festival and it was lovely! We will be ending this trip at Busch Gardens, where we will hook up with my clan for:

4. Week in Emerald Isle, NC. The best vacation of the year! Beaches, good food, good company, and now they have a spa. Of course, walking on sand does wonders for your callouses, but so does a pedicure. Always a pleasure, and I don't have to miss out this year.

After all this, I begin work, but I am so excited about this job- I hope to settle into it for many years.
Look also for some posts on our travels of the past few months:

1. Loudoun County- vineyards, countryside, and beautiful views! Tarara Vineyards is rocking good- anyone who visits, must come here with us.

2. Cherry Blossom festival in DC and Indian food- good times and food had by all!

3. Great Falls National Park- where they may have found a body recently. Yikes!

4. Alexandria, VA- and an awful Spanish restaurant (that a Spaniard thought was delicious!)

5. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens- heaven! A good place to walk and smell the flowers (and watch the turtles- okay, I admit, I act like a 5 year old when I see wildlife)

6. Parents' Visit to DC- a walk from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, a dinner at a swank French-Alsatian restaurant, a picnic at Tarara, and why wine-makers need to talk less about themselves and more about the wine.

7. Reston Wine Festival and Penang, DC- houchie mommas reign supreme when you people watch in DC on a Saturday night- plus, why we all feel really old when we try to have a drink in a college bar.

8. Mt. Vernon Wine Festival- George knew how to construct a house- what a view! Oh, and we had some great wine too!

9. Mt. Vernon, take two- we toured the estate, watched some bad-tempered sheep get loaded into a pick-up truck, got pissed off about student tour groups, had dirt-covered feet by the end of the day, and ate at a Republican-favored Chinese restaurant (with dirty feet). Good day!

10. Reston Farmer's Market- okay, so it is set on a lake (small lake) and a piazza, it has craft booths, and great produce- this could be a French market! Except, the "piazza" was built in the 60s, and consists of brick and cubist concrete architecture. So, French ideals, American crap architecture, and fabulous food that will feed us all summer!

I don't care about authenticity

It is taco night in this household.
Wait for it....

Yum.

Weird happenings of the day...

One of my favorite things is when you are driving, and you catch a glimpse of a sign or picture and feel as if you need to do a double-take.
Whilst driving to DC today, I saw a sign for the "George Bush Center for Intelligence." At first glance, hysterical. Then, of course, you realize that it is a CIA building named for George H. Bush. Good laugh.
Then, Brutus Buckeye gave me the heads up on a great article:
"Sheriff: Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years"
Yep. A woman apparently went into her boyfriend's bathroom and stayed for two years, while he feed her. Quote, the boyfriend, "She is an adult; she made her own decision. It was my fault I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it."
Yes. I would get used to my girlfriend (NOT wife) living in the bathroom for two years. And, I wouldn't get her help, because she must NOT have any problems or issues.
The story gets even better:

"Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who stayed in her boyfriend's bathroom for two years, spending most of her time on the toilet — so that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the man finally called police.
It appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat, said Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple. The woman initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.
"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it." "

Only in Kansas.

Are mistresses still chic?

So, yesterday, I received a a copy of "The New York Review of Books" for some reason. I wasn't impressed- I don't think that there was a single book reviewed that I would read, and those of you who know me, know I read nearly anything.
However, when you flip to the back of this periodical, you strike gold!
"Personal Services" and "Personals" make this publication worthwhile!
In "Personal Services," you can chose between "Sacred Erotic...The Incredible Lightness of Tough. Private, safe, tasteful," or "Erotic Explosion... Let me blow your mind, your ultimate erogenous zone. Provocative talk with educated beauty. No limits." Hmm...sounds like a zombie dating site (brains! braaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiinsssss!) And, sandwiched between these two ads, was "The Right Stuff- Date fellow graduates and faculty or the Ivies, Stanford, and a few other excellent schools." Interesting.
Now, in personals, there were several ads for people in boring marriages, looking for outside relationships. Now, get this- the age group for this ad? 65-75!! Strange.
The best ad, however, was from a self-described "scholar-adventurer...former revolutionary" looking for "long-term mistress or full second wife."
Now, this brings me to a relevant point, in light of Eliot Spitzer's link to a prostitution ring. Why don't American politicians just have mistresses instead of prostitutes? I mean, if you are spending $4000 on an hour or two with a prostitute, maybe once or twice a month, you could definitely swing an apartment, food, clothing, and presents for an established mistress. I think if the media found out about it, you could spin it into a nice, heartwarming story that will keep you in office (but maybe not with your wife).
For example, you can't spin the prostitute story too well, "I was trying to support these girls, who have no other transferable skill than sex. It's like the stripper who is paying for college."
Nah. Doesn't fly.
But with a mistress, "Well, ladies and gentlemen of the press, I am ashamed to admit it. I have loved two women in my life, and I cannot choose between them. Would you fault me for loving too much?" Make sure that there is "Titanic" music in the background.
Europeans have it right. Mistresses, not prostitutes!

Respect for the house bound

So, I've been partially employed for two months now (my last full time job day was January 11th- hard to believe that the whole life in NC is only two months away- it is seeming lifetimes). I work mainly evenings and weekends. It isn't ideal and it doesn't pay too many bills.
So, I've been largely stuck in the house. Now, I spend a lot of the day looking for full time work or refining applications.* I also do housework- cleaning, organizing, cooking, dishes, laundry. Today, I did a little of each. I also did finances and personal paperwork. Now, I have a small family and home. But, it does actually take some work to do all these things. I never thought to much about them in isolation, because these were all things that I used to do on top of working. However, when you have more time to do things around the house, it does take a good amount of time.
However, that isn't what earned my respect- what earns it for me is that doing all this stuff at home is really isolating. Being a house bound person, without a "career" isn't rocket science- it has its own artistry, but it can be acquired as a skill. However, the working in one environment, where you are the only person mostly, and you may not leave the house much, well, that takes some getting used to! At least at work, you have people around you (you may not like them, but there is an essay by William Hazlett, "On the Pleasure of Hating," so not liking them may be enjoyable) and perhaps daily companions or teammates. I used to have kids around all day and while they may drive you nuts (often), they also provided more comedy than a stand-up marathon. I had fellow teachers to discuss things with (work, the world, the latest trashy gossip). This, at least, gives a little variation to your day. Being house bound (or "Housewife/Househusband") lacks that- maybe the TV helps, but you can't argue too much with it. Or dish about some things, or come up with new ways/methods of making your work better.
So, to people like my mother, who is my best friend (husband, you are too, but Mom wins by a hair, due to default of length of association), who work at home and get little recognition, here's to you not going crazy!

*Optional rant- okay. So, in VA, you apply to teaching jobs by county, not town (as they do in NJ). Now, each county has an online application system that you have to fill out to even be considered for interviewing. What gets me is that each county has the SAME online application system. Now, why isn't there ONE application for the state, which you could then send to each county you want to apply to? Makes sense, right? Instead, I have to do the same, tedious application (which is a long version of my resume- it just gets put into a database format by me) for each county. I also have to send copies of letters of recommendation, resumes, personal statements, CVS, transcripts, and licenses to each county. Why not just have ONE system, where I could scan the documents, and not have to copy, request documents, and mail so often?
Why? Because public education is a government job. Government likes to make many jobs, to hire more people (a form of social welfare, I suppose) to do things that one person could do. So, they need to have a person to process my paperwork at each county office (or maybe 10- I don't know) so more people can work.

Don't be lonely in these states

I read today that Virginia, my new home state, is one of four states that bans sexual toys, the others being Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Hey doc, I have a...

Soranus.
Just say it out loud. Then, laugh.
I was reading one of my Medieval mysteries when the name came up- I have seen it before (and laughed), but have forgotten about it.
Soranus is the name of a Greek doctor from Ephesus, who trained in Alexandria, and practiced in Rome around the 1st and 2nd centuries AD (90-130AD ish?). He did work on female health, fractures, and diseases. There are Latin translations of his work available, I believe, and some in Greek? I am going off of memory, which is not often the best research method. But a doctor called Soranus? He should have been a proctologist.
Ohh- proctologist joke! What is a Pokemon?
A Jamaican proctologist!
(I stole that from the yearly contest in the Post I believe to take existing words in the English language and give them new meanings that are funnier...)
I also remember that there is an entry for Soranus in the Suda, which is a Byzantine encyclopedia of everything ancient- sort of like a scrapbook of ancient knowledge (sayings, grammar, words, people, places, events). I looked online for that and found this http://www.stoa.org/sol/about.shtml, which is an online version of the Suda, which is being constantly updated, translated, and fixed by researchers. Cool! The problem with some much Greek and Latin literature is that you have to go to a top Classics research library to find works and they are not all translated. For a Latin teacher, this is a pain, because I know there are many strange works I would like to read with my students, but I have no university affiliations to get books and these obscure works cost an arm and leg to buy. Sigh. But, maybe I can translate the Suda into short Latin pieces for my students- I have been looking for ways to generate more interesting Latin pieces for classroom use at all levels....Just an idea.

A great article on education reform

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120364195876084617.html?mod=opinion_journal_federation

I found this one on the Wall Street Journal this morning. It proposes a mixture of business type school reforms, as well as instructional/curriculum based reforms. In other words, you can use "business" strategy to reform schools- fix the hiring process (end tenure!!!) and offer school choice (the author is a big believer in this system- I haven't thought about this enough to comment, but do wonder in inner-city schools- how much choice is there if there aren't many private/parochial schools to turn to?)- as well as fix the curriculum- stop using trendy methods that are marketed as the "answer" to teaching students, and work on figuring out what really works (brain based research as well as maybe creating tests that actually test something- can you read? can you write? can you do basic math and apply logical thinking? do you have a grounding in principles of science?). The "figuring out what really works" is the hard part (who does it, how do they do it, etc.)- but the author of this article looks at the Massachusetts school system (but does a lousy job actually explaining what they do right- he gives them about two paragraphs at the end!), which seems to be a success where it matters- in the classroom and in the lives of students.

There was one new point that the author brought up that I have not thought too much about- teacher education. I never took any education classes in undergrad and only took a crash course at the grad level, to achieve certification in an alternate route program. I did not realize that much of the bad practices in education are taught to education majors, since schools of education have not really looked at their curriculum to see if what they teach really works for students. I have noticed that the strongest teachers at my old schools were the alternate route teachers- those with little "indoctrination" from an education program. They had great success with students and were willing to try any method that worked with their group of students. In my own classroom, I never really used "educational theory" as anything other than a tool- MI theory, Bloom's, etc. were all useful at certain times. I learned my methodology from my own research in language acquisition (my area) and from my students. At the end of each lesson, I would have "Student Satisfaction Surveys"- I asked my students to identify strong and weak spots in my teaching and give me ideas for how to help them. Some kids wanted more groups, some wanted more one-on-one with me, some wanted less homework but more work in the classroom, and the list goes on. I used this information to modify my teaching for each class as well as for each student. Again, I have not taken the traditional education classes, so maybe this is where some of the bad teaching comes from?

Last point- the author of the article also talks about teaching certification- a process that does need some revamping, just as the hiring-retention-training process does. To be certified, you have to have the paperwork (courses, tests, degrees), but to retain your certification, you have do not much of anything. You have to teach, but then do something like 100+ hours every five years of "professional development." Now, this "development" can be utterly ridiculous- you can take stupid seminars on how to use Microsoft Word and get 10 hours of credit. Why not actually keep this requirement, but give it some teeth? Every field has national associations, all of which have national conventions. Why not put aside some money to send people to these conferences, instead of hiring people to give "professional development" seminars to schools on certain days of the year (as someone who experienced these "professional ed" days- they are worthless, especially the generic ones for the whole school- and they aren't cheap for school districts- you can pay thousands of dollars to presenters who add nothing to a teacher's ability to teach)? Why not ask many of the national associations to put on web classes (which are cheaper than flying people to conference at one particular point) for their fields? Why not have teachers work over the summer to do professional development- as a department, as a county, as a state?

The problem with this last point is who will pay for it- my husband finds it amazing that I have to do these hours for my certification, but have to pay for all of it (well, some schools offer "tuition assistance," but they have arcane rules for what they will pay for. They also pay for things not related to education- if you have a MA, then they will pay for you take classes in any field you want, even if it is not related to what you teach. This needs to go and money needs to go for developing what you do in the job you are paid for). He finds that strange- I find it typical in education. The money is the issue- I just wish that doing best for the students would be more of the issue, and then managing the money to reach that goal.

Good names in PA

While driving to/from Wilkes-Barre, PA this weekend, I saw some good names for towns and other goods:

1. Hecktown Road - used to be Helltown, then they maybe got blasphemy laws?

2. Scotrum, PA- glance at a sign for this town really quickly and you think you see another word

3. Shamokin, PA- its like a town that watched "The Mask" too many times and decided to name their town after the "Shaammmoookin" line. Or a combination of their jobs- shamming and smoking weed...(says husband dear)

4. Lickdale, PA- I want to know the story behind that one.

5. Sign for a farm stand- "We have Old Timey Applebutter"- didn't know "old time" could have a "y" at the end

6. Tokyo Diner- American or Japanese food? You take a guess.

7. Best person of the day- we were cut off by a guy with "I'm a reenactor" bumper stickers outside of Gettysburg, PA (Civil War reenactor)- when we finally passed him, we got a good look- now, I'm not down with the Civil War fashions, but a beard that grows entirely under your chin from your sideburns and is absent from the mouth/cheek area, well, I wish we had the camera. And, it was snow white colored. I will try to find a picture online to supplement this image.

8. Strangest drink of the weekend- Manishevitz Blackberry (husband tried it and found that it had a palate of....blackberries!)

9. Best line of the weekend- "This town has balls!" re: Wilkes-Barre and the third testicle theory (which was discussed in front of grandma, who giggled away)

10. Best food of the weekend- Dominick's pizza (full of delicious lard in the dough, so it seems to be fried on the bottom), clams, and Grandma's soup. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Soup....

Poop is funny.

Over the past few days, I have come to the conclusion that anything having to do with farts or poop is just hysterical. Now, occasional colon blows are not fun (if you are the owner of the colon in question), but jokes or discussions about either will just never lose their sheen of sheer giggly goodness.
Just think how much less funny the world would be without fart jokes or insinuations.
Scatological humour. It just rocks.

I am prolific today

So, I am waiting to teach my last evening class of the week (online style- which is really good as a new educational tool, but it too has its caveats- another day, another post), and I thought I would touch on some interesting websites I have seen recently.

1. www.storyofstuff.com- Admittedly, this site it not for all. Many will jeer and yell "tree hugger!" within 30 seconds, but, hey, it was interesting to view. The site is a 20 minute movie/cartoon about stuff- how it is made, produced, sold, consumed, and thrown out. It is a very brief history of "stuff" but it does bring up some good points to be aware of. I have found myself overwhelmed by stuff since we moved, and I think I could do with a lot less stuff, and this website sort of brought it home to me. Again, not for all.

2. www.irregularwebcomic.net- I love this site. A guy in Australia does a daily webcomic (it is not irregular- but if he forgets one day, well, the title does protect him! But I think that the content is more irregular...) using Legos and painted Dungeon and Dragon figures, which he positions, photographs, and photoshops. He has all types of difference threads (he mixes them up each day)- Indiana Jones, Steve Irwin, a modern Shakespeare, Death (one of my favorites), Mythbusters, and Dungeons and Dragons. Worth a look- there are almost 1900 comics, which you can access in an index. Beware! I got hooked and lost a few hours of my life back in December...But, what a clever idea!

3. 101 cookbooks- A new blog I have looked at, in which the author is trying out her cookbooks, instead of buying more. See, I love cookbooks too- but I keep making the same recipes and then buying new ones (just like this blog author does), so I guess it has inspired me to try new stuff- if we ever find the cookbooks in storage, that is!

4. the Minimalist blog on NyTimes- Mark Bittman. I like this guy, so reading about his food and his views of food is fun. I want to try his short ribs...yummm! I'm going to try to get his "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" cookbook out of the library soon- while we are not veg in this household (in fact, one of us is pretty close to being a total carnivore if allowed), I always have a hard time spicing up veg side dishes or lunch dishes.

5. SCA- the Society for Creative Anachronism. People who have secret lives as Medieval people! I found this while trying to find some sewing ideas for togas/tunics (okay- yes, I was thinking of making one- but I teach Latin and its just to amuse the children. I don't need to reenact Rome with anyone...yet!) and stumbled onto their NE Pennsylvania chapter. Just give it a look.

That is all for now...I need to log on and get ready to talk about the joy of Sentence Completion sections and Short Passages based questions.

Funny student moment..

One of my students did not know the meaning of the word "oblivious"- and you can maybe guess how I wanted to define it.
Just a funny moment.

"Public Education"

I have been away much, but I have been busy. We are almost done unpacking and organizing (there is an end in sight!), and I have been fervently looking for a job each morning, as well as working the part-time one on the weekends and evenings.
On the job seeking aspect (and I'm sorry if this blog has become dreary- I hope my outlook will improve soon and will endeavor to turn my frown upside down)- not much doing. I may have the beat on a Latin job relatively close by for this year, as opposed to waiting until September to be employed. On the employment note, I will have to say that my views on certain issues have changed about due to my little family's financial situation (which is not dire, just new for me). We are now a single income household, making below what is really "needed" to live in the area. I provide only minimal income at the moment (and feel, as I may have already said, like useless baggage that only consumes. I am used to being employed. I guess one of the "new" views I have is that I am defining myself lately by my economic vitality- and since I have little to none of that, I have little or no worth to myself), and we have a rent that is more than we paid before, but still have a mortgage on a house that has been on the market only over a month (which the agents say is normal for the area and the time of year).
In light of this, the world looks a little different. Yeah, I shop only for food (we did buy some clothes recently, mainly for my husband since he needed them as Army uniforms don't work in corporate, and a few shirts for me to wear to interviews) and more carefully (if it isn't on sale or I don't have a coupon, it isn't in the cart. I am only allowed 3 items that are not on sale, and none can be above 5$, with only one preferably being close to 5$. I mostly buy cheese or olives, which are a pleasure in life. I also am now a Charles Shaw fan, since Trader Joe's is about 1 mile away). I, however, enjoy the frugal experience- it makes sense even in good times. I also don't miss clothes shopping or shopping for the house- I think I really just used to do it because I was bored. Mindless consumption is something I would like to purge from my existence (and yes, even on the book buying front- the library is a blessing that our government helps to fund). Also, I drive a lot less (not working helps this!) and tend to go out only when I have multiple places near each other. Gas is astronomically expensive! When the weather gets nice, I will walk to the stores more. As a suburban/rural inhabitant for most of my life, that is, again, an actually nice thing. So, some good, simple lessons learned and, moreover, appreciated.
One thing I have thought about is how would we ever be able to afford to educate anyone in our family, with this type of situation? I mean, mainly, post secondary (undergraduate or graduate level) education. Imagine this- we are still in the situation we are in and have a child who is a senior in high school. The kid is a good student, but only nabs a few academic scholarships worth maybe 1000$ a year. Where do you get the money to send them? I live in Virginia. So, let's look at public universities (since I am not even going to consider the private ones!) and assume that I do not want to take out lots of loans that either I will have to pay (assume I am still probably paying a mortgage) and that I refuse to burden my child with debt close to $100,000 when they graduate and look for their first job (unless they really want it! But still, it was not something I was raised to give my children):

Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Tuition (all in-state costs): $3, 186 - not too bad
Fees: $2,210- what? What are these "fees"? Shouldn't any "fees" be part of the tuition? Hmm..
Debt Service Fee: $259- I don't even know that this is!
Room: $4,249
Board: $3,091
Total: $12,995
Four years (assuming no increase, which is insane): $51,980- $4,000 (scholarship)= $47, 980

UVA, Charlottesville, VA
Tuition and Fees (they include them together!): $8, 690
Room and Board: $7, 435
Total: $16, 125
Four years (no increase): $64, 500- $4,000= $60, 500

George Mason University- which is near to where we live, so we will do this with Room and Board and without Room and Board: (sidenote- they do NOT have a site with all costs- you have to go to each department- Housing, Dining, and Financial to get costs):
Tuition: $3, 420 (some fees are added, some classes have a higher cost)
Room: ranges from $3, 410-$7, 410 per academic year (more for 12 months)
Board: $3,200 (average from dining plans)
Total with Room and Board: $10, 620 (I used $4,000 for Room)
Four years with Room and Board: $42,480- $4,000= $38, 480
Four years with no Room and Board (live at home, without home expense taken into consideration, however): $13, 680- $4,000= $9, 680

Hmmm...Looks like my kid is going to GMU and living at home. Not the best of worlds (I want my child to have the "college" years- they do force you to grow up a lot and are some of your best years).

So, the reason that I titled this blog "Public Education" is that "public" universities are not really that public- I have been searching for how much of the VA budget goes to higher ed (I haven't the time right now- lunch break is almost over! There is tons of info on budget reform, but no nice percentage I can throw up on this site from the state website. I will update if I can find it!), and then wonder how much really can go into it, with all else the government needs to fund (or pay themselves). So, maybe these schools *do* cost less overall (My school, an Ivy, would probably be over $200,000 for four years now- that $4,000 scholarship isn't going to help too much!), but now I understand more where a family making under $100, 000 per year would feel the crunch- especially when you may not be able to save very much or enough for more than one child. So, what is public about these schools? Do they serve the majority of the public or not? I need to think and research more.
I guess I am also very skeptical about public higher education coming from NJ, and having attended a public university there. There were/are too often professors or deans or politicians who held multiple, tax-paid positions in the government and the university, some of which were "nominal" positions. However, they got salaries, from taxes, for all positions (not low salaries either), as well as more than one pension from the state! So, how public is that university? Just to add to ITWOP and the very patriotic belief that we should question government and hold it accountable, or we should not call ourselves citizens.
So, another lesson learned from overthinking these last few weeks is savings. If my economic input does not pick up soon (and I admit, I may have to give up the profession I am best suited for, passionate about, and love), my real "honeymoon" that was planned (Europe- West to East) may be the retirement trip, and I have not seen Rome for nearly a decade, but
it may be another decade before I do. This is okay- because the future goals are more important than the vacation, and Virginia, even if it is not running very "public" institutions, has many places to explore.
Wow. This went all over the place!

I hate politics.

So, reading through all the various news sources (Reuters, Post, Times, Fox, Slate, Salon, BBC), I realize that I hate politics, and that it makes me sad. Again, you will note that I am heavily leaning towards the idealist "we can make this work" mentality (you have to have this being a public servant/teacher to make it through, or, you cannot have it, and then you just get really bitter)- I wish I didn't have to feel this way. I do, however, and not much is going to change.

Case in point- why do so many people feel "excited" that they have the choice between a woman or a black president? Who cares? If you were raised to believe that sexism or racism were bad things, and that you should never judge a person by their race/gender, why is it a huge factor now? Does it only mean that we can judge them on their race or gender, only when they do "good" things or make "progress"? Isn't that a little pejorative? Good -insert gender/race- person! You did it! Good for you! It sounds insulting to me, and I am one of the genders in discussion.

I think, given the times and situations we live in, that the choice for president should be the best one to handle the major issues. I don't mean every issue, because, as I posted before, you can't please a majority of people, no matter how hard you try. I don't care about the "historical" nature of this race- I suppose that this is where I am not the idealist of the earlier paragraphs- I am more concerned with the reality of the world right now. We are at war (married to a man who was in the war makes it more real- and the fact that we get the Army Times, and they list the American dead with their pictures each week. That should be done in all newspapers [and I don't give a shit if that isn't the sort of thing that "sells"- journalists need to go back and reassess what their role is, outside of money-maker], so that maybe the millions of Americans who aren't related to a soldier and aren't really effected by the war could at least remember that there is one) and our economy/internal affairs needs some work. Talk about those issues, and I don't care what you look like! Electing a woman or black man for history's sake is a weak argument. If they are qualified to deal with the big issues, bring it on!

Also- why is it in the best interest of the world to promote liberal, pluralistic democracies? Pluralistic= various religious/tribal/racial groups living together. I know partition is a bad idea, but is it any better to force people with deep-rooted hatred to get along? Can you, or will it erupt every now and then? I mean, in the US, while we tend to get along among all of our different groups, we all do tend to live among people who are similar to us, either in race, religion, and income. I guess this is in response to some of what I have been reading about Kenya and Iraq. Okay- enough of this post. It is rather disorganized and rambling, and maybe I will fix or expand later.

Online is great, but it is 6:30pm...

I have trained online today for:
1. Civil rights knowledge (Oregon)
2. Red Cross Basic First Aid (from Indiana)
3. Child Abuse (to how to, but how to notice- Virginia)
4. I have also set up my online course for Latin- to which no students have entered. I wrote a lovely letter, with pictures and information, to each student- and have no replies. I even recorded a message with my webcam and mic- and have gotten nothing in return. First day of an online school means you don't log it, I suppose.

I have also been given three assignments to teach SAT prep online next week- and now have to play around with the modules.

All of this is great- but I sat down at 9am this morning and am near finishing (well, some things, but didn't get to others!) now, at 6:30pm. And, strangely enough, I have gotten paid for none of this! In fact, the first three are things I have to pay for (Oregon- 120$, Virginia, 50$, Red Cross, 45$), and the last, I get paid 244$ for a whole semester of work, from January-June, since I only have three students.
However, all of this is resume building or it is a way to be licensed to apply for jobs. I'm dealing in hope lately, and hope is really anti-social and requires little movement on my part.

Off to do the laundry and move and unpack- because I have that part of my life to do as well.

I did find the public library yesterday- i got my card in the mail this weekend. I got a few books- Harold Bloom mostly, and bought a nice, red library bag to hold them. I don't think I've been so excited for weeks now! I read Fahrenheit 451 last night for fun- it was great.

Teaching the teachers...

So many people quote this at me, that I want to puke neon green ectoplasm in their general direction in mass quantities, but I am tempting fate and may soon, myself, look like a Nickelodeon contestant (You Can't Say That on Television! Bring back memories?):
Those who can't, teach. Those who really can't, teach teachers.
Well, I used to believe this. But I, hallelujah (is that the correct spelling? I know I have read it, but can I write it?), have been redeemed!
Trust me- even if you can, that doesn't mean you can teach. And if you can't, you won't be able to bullshit in front of a room of sarcastic, ready to rumble teenagers. Feeding time at the zoo if you haven't got a clue.
Now, as to teaching teachers- well, I hated professional development, until I realized how useful the skills taught in the seminars were. They were intelligent and helpful, if you could figure out how to transform theory mumbo-jumbo and Harvard studies and apply them to hormonal teens. But, the presentation style of professional developers is always a little dry and the presenters tended to teach other teachers as if they are children. (Side note- have you ever, when in little kid school, had the teacher raise their hand, and wait until all other students are quiet and are raising their hands to continue thing? The silence through solidarity thing? Yeah. Don't do that to adults, especially teachers. We want to put you in the nearest paper shredder. And not into strips- we want confetti shredders!) So, if I get a gig that I applied for, doing professional development, why not try to do what I wanted everyone else to do? I may not be able to at first, but isn't progress someone giving it a go and trying something new, for the betterment of all?
Idealism, I still love you some times.

A brief introduction

I have a book on Isabella, wife of Edward II, to read now and I am frankly a little tired. I started this blog site simply to have a place to write some words out, on a lark, and I may only be here infrequently. Please feel free to write, but do use politeness- I have stayed away from blogging because of the rampant and frenzied attacks that people seem to enjoy posting. Otherwise, share and enjoy!