In the Headlights

Baryshnikov!

  It's been ten days since some of my friends and I went to a reception for Mikhail Baryshnikov.  I don't know why it's taken me so long to do a post about it.

Yes I do.  I wanted to do it justice, find a day when I had lots of time to do it right.  The problem with that is that there is no such day, and I just need to do it.

The reception was at J. Johnson Art Gallery.  The proceeds from the ticket sales went to The Nature Conservancy, and most of the proceeds from sales of signed prints of one of Baryshnikov's dance photographs from his Dominican series went to my favorite place in Florida, White Oak Conservation Center.  In the course of the evening, 500 people were admitted. 

We got there early.  The beautiful gallery was filled with Mr. Baryshnikov's photographs.  We wandered in different directions, some to the open bar, others to look at the art work. 

I was looking at art, when I saw a small group of people walk into the room.  In the center was the master himself, small in stature, but a dominant presence.  I rushed over and introduced myself and told him what a huge fan I am of White Oak. I was basically a blithering idiot, trying to think of something to say, while getting the attention of others in my group.   He shook my hand, then graciously allowed us to get a few photographs.  He was pretty swamped through the whole evening.

Through it all, wait staff wandered through the crowd with trays of the most luscious hors d'oeuvres. Shrimp and steak au poivre, mini crab cakes, and my personal favorite, ahi tuna on small cubes of watermelon, topped with a dab of wasabi.  OMG, to die for!  The catering trucks said "Catering by Liz" on the sides, so I knew the food was from chef Liz Grenamyer.  Grenamyer was the owner/chef of our first favorite fancy restaurant in Jacksonville, 24 Miramar.  It closed its doors in 2003 as she made the decision to concentrate on catering only.  From what I experienced at the reception, this venture is every bit as successful as her restaurants had been.

At 59, Baryshnikov looked his age, and he was smaller than I'd expected, maybe 5'4" or so.  But still trim and compact, physically not much different from the impression I'd had the day before watching "White Nights".  Unfortunately, he didn't dance for us.

What a treat. 

Red Cabbage

Last night, I had dinner with my folks.  One of the items on the menu was red cabbage.  It's a dish I've always loved, the sweet and sour cabbage goes so well with pork, beef, pasta, chicken.  It's a vegetable that can stand alone. 

Before we ate, I took some pictures of the dish, figuring on sharing it with you all.  I used my cell phone since I didn't have my camera with me, and for some reason, it blocked all three photos together.  One of those options I then could not figure out how to get rid of.

 

Here's the recipe for Rotkohl mit Apfeln (Red Cabbage with Apples).  In parentheses are notes on variations my mother employed.  She feels strongly  that three cups of water is plenty, that you don't want a soaking dish of cabbage, rather it should be a bit dry.

A 2-2 1/2-pound head of red cabbage
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lard or bacon fat
2 medium-sized cooking apples (Mom used Granny Smith) peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 whole onion, peeled and pierced with 2 whole cloves (Mom just threw in 2 cloves, rather than studding them into an onion)
1 small bay leaf
5 cups boiling water (Mom used 3)
3 tablespoons dry red wine
3 tablespoons red currant jelly (optional)

Wash the head of cabbage under cold running water, remove the rough outer leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters.  To shred the cabbage, cut out the core and slice the quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch strips.

Drop the cabbage into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle it with the vinegar, sugar and salt, then toss the shreds about with a spoon to coat them evenly with the mixture.  In a heavy 4- to 5-quart casserole, melt the lard or bacon fat over moderate heat.  Add the apples and chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the apples are lightly browned.  Add the cabbage, the whole onion with cloves, and the bay leaf;  stir thoroughly and pour in the boiling water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and reduce the heat to its lowest possible point.   Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the cabbage is tender.  Check from time to time to make sure that the cabbage is moist.  If it seems dry, add a tablespoon of boiling water.  When the cabbage is done, there should be almost no liquid left in the casserole.  Just before serving, remove the onion and bay leaf, and stir in the wine and the currant jelly.  Taste for seasoning, then transfer the entire contents of the casserole to a heated platter or bowl and serve.

[This recipe is from the Time-Life series, Foods of the World, in The Cooking of Germany by Nika Standen Hazelton.]

Oh, the Shame of it All!

There's a website dedicated to humiliating cats.  It's called Stuff on My Cat and it's photo after photo of cats in compromising positions, like the one with a mouse necktie.

And while some look content or just oblivious, it is obvious that some aren't so happy about the whole thing.

I know one thing for sure, my cats would never put up with it.

Check it out.  It's hilarious.

On Cosmos and Rainbows

Last Saturday was bridge night.  Sandy, Kathie and I carpooled. We met at Sandy's, and Kathie drove.  As we headed east, it was raining and we saw a beautiful rainbow.  Once we hit the highway, we could see almost the whole thing. It was extraordinary.  I didn't have my camera, so I whipped out my trusty Cingular 8535 cellphone and took some shots.  It's 2 megapixels, so the resolution isn't as good as with the camera, but I think these turned out pretty well.  Kathie was kind enough to turn off the wipers.  After the fact, I realized that my phone has a panorama feature, and I probably could have gotten both ends of the rainbow as well as the middle.  Still and all, good luck to you.

 

At bridge, Dan and Karen were mixing up Cosmopolitan as the featured drink.  I usually don't like sweet drinks, but these were great.  Dan said he had tweaked the recipe a bit.  Here's his version:

1/4 ounce lime juice
1/3 ounce Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce vodka
2/3 ounce cranberry juice

Shake with ice, strain.

In this case, they were making them a couple of cups at a time.  So if you're entertaining, substitute "cup" for "ounce" and instead of making a single drink, you'll make eight at a time.

We still managed to play pretty good cards.

 

Enjoy!

Yum!

 

Glo shared this with us.

We've been exchanging emails, and she mentioned that she no longer eats meat (fish, yes...) because it was impossible to tell what animals were treated humanely and that someone had sent her something that she could not ignore and she became a vegetarian.

So when I saw an attachment, I feared it would be one of those photos that would put me off meat forever.  You know the ones...you get them in the mail regularly...I know I do.

This is what it was.  I'll tell you one thing, it's put me off eating cats forever.

I went on the 'net to see if I could find who did the art, and I found this:

from Stickam.  Looks just like my late cat Pirate.

This from pbase:

I found the first photo at a couple of sites, but couldn't tell where it originated.

Thanks, Glo.  Enjoy your fish sandwich.

Serpendipity

Yesterday, I wrote a post on our trip to Linville Falls. 

I neglected to mention a high point of the trip.

The last path is to a place called Erwin Point, or Erwin Overlook or some such thing.  (Erwin something, anyway.) 

Walking along the path, we came upon a small crowd of people (6-8) stopped on the path.

They were all looking at the brightly-colored specimen in the photo, which was four or five feet off the path.   The young boys in a family had spotted him/her first, and others coming along stopped to photograph and chat.  And squirm.  I did, anyway, even more when they told me they had seen a bigger one under a rocky outcrop by the overlook.  I got so squeamish, they walked me there for protection.

I didn't get a good look at the tail, but they said it had rattles.  Interestingly, the snake, which was about 2 1/2 feet long, just sat there looking at us, too. Looks like a pit viper to me.   He didn't appear rattled... no evidence of agitation.  He did slither a bit, though, so I knew he wasn't stuffed.

Speculation was that he knew he had lots of room to get away into the brush and wasn't feeling cornered.

We also discussed the fact that we were calmly watching (admiring!) a snake near a place called "Erwin."  It may not have been the same spelling as Steve Irwin's name, but it came up, and we credited him with the fact that we weren't freaking out.

I seem to be getting quite a collection of snake photos.  I'll have to try to get a snap of the big black racer who pops up in my yard now and then and scares someone (often me) half to death.

I will never forget the word that is the title of this post.  Many years ago, a friend of mine used this neologism for "serendipity".  I hugged myself with delight. I've always thought the proper definition for it was fortuitously coming across a snake. 

Awesome Animals

Peggy sent me these stunning photos.  I don't know where they originated, but I think they are well worth sharing.

Wonderful photography, capturing these moments of intense action.

   

Bickering over choice bits.

 

No need to bicker here, there'll be feasting.

I wonder how this little tete-a-tete will end.

These eagle-action shots are phenomenal.

 

You've really arrived when you can get someone else to pick your nose for you.  Louis XVI, any comments?

You may have noticed a signature and a web site on two of the photographs of fishing birds (are they hawks?).  They are the work of Miguel Lasa.  His web site is a vast gallery of stunning photographs going back several years.  I didn't browse the entire catalog to see if all the photos above are his.  They well might be.  But if your jaw dropped with these shots, you should take some time and look at some of the others.  They are truly awe-inspiring.

I'll stop now.  I'm running out of superlatives.

Insect-Eating Flower

This isn't a man-eating dog post.  Rather, it is about a lovely plant Keith planted in my yard, telling me that the yellow center attracts insects, and that the flower then closes around said clueless creature.

He couldn't remember what it is called.  I'll bug him (heh!) and let you know if he remembers when he's not trying so hard to.

This purple plant is about the size of an outstretched palm, lovely and very different.

If you know what it is, please fill me in.  I couldn't find it searching insect-eating plants or flowers, or carniverous plants.

Okay, I found a bit more about this vine and flower.  It is called Aristolochia elegans, or pipe vine or Dutchman's pipe, or calico flower.  Apparently it attracts butterflies, but I don't see anything about it eating them, or any other live critters.  Still, it intrigues, and I'll let you know if I learn anything more.

Adventures in Landscaping

There are some beautiful things in my yard now.  The flower on the left is a majestic lily.  There is a whole row of them along the front walk. 

I am charmed every time I go outside.  Charmed and horrified.  The horrified part is that there is still quite a bit to go on this project which started in mid-May.

Each minor project that gets done begets two or three more. 

It started because we had a drought, and my front yard was sandy dirt with the occasional weed, and lots of ant hills.  a friend from work had some landscaping done by Keith and his crew, so he came and gave me a bid I could live with, and had quite a vision for what could be done with the yard.

It started expanding when we got the sprinkler system put in and he suggested that if we ran some PVC under the driveway, we could, at a later date (ha) develop the side lot and run the sprinklers there. 

As the work got going, they ran into huge and massive tree roots.  This is Florida, after all, and the land had never been developed.  Those had to be dug out manually.  They are also redoing the wood on the old flower-filled wagon in the front yard, and took down a fence dividing the front and the back, which had no real reason to exist.  I have discovered a fondness for purple foliage, and red flowers.

The biggest unexpected side project is the new well.  During the drought, my well ran dry and sucked up muck that clogged my water-to-air cooling system.  I had to have repairmen come and fix both, not an easy feat when you are the only one living at the house.  You know how these things work:  "We'll have a repairman there between 8 and 5 on Friday."

Imagine my chagrin when we got the sprinkler system hooked up and the spray was pretty anemic.  We installed an immersible pump, and in the process of installing it, the well failed again, and dredged up muck, and clogged up the air again.  To make a long story short, we decided (5 weeks ago) that the well needed to be replaced.  I had a choice between a modestly priced 3-inch rock well, and a much pricier artesian well.  After much thought, I decided on the artesian, which should provide wonderful, potable, plentiful water forever.  That will be pretty nice, because for the last few weeks, when I shower, the water dribbles out.  It takes twenty minutes to get hot water to the shower in the master bath, and the output isn't much, and I never seem to get all the conditioner out of my hair.  I don't have the patience.

I finally got the permit to dig the well;  that should start Monday, and involve large trucks running over my yard and digging holes.  I'll try to remember to take pictures.

Old Rag

I recently mentioned that some friends and I are going hiking at Roan Mountain State Park in a couple of weeks.  Not to be outdone, Stryder sent us these photos of a recent assault he made on Old Rag in the Shenandoahs.  The scenery looks a lot like we'll see at Roan.

 

Beautiful, isn't it?

A lot of rock, which makes for challenging climbing.

I can't wait.