She had to fly back to Texas before the rental period ended, so the accordion has stayed here in the house since, and on a few of those days when watching TV and doing laundry isn’t enough to pass the time, I’d pick it up and try to figure it out.

I played “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Jingle Bells” and even took a semi-successful crack at “San Antonio Rose” following an afternoon of having Patsy Cline stuck in my head. But, since it has to go back tomorrow, while waiting for Grandpa’s med-time to roll around this evening, I picked it up for one last round and worked out the melody – and some of the bass line chords – of “Oom-Pah-Pah” from Oliver! (with help from this guy).

Thankfully, Grandpa is nearly deaf, so me pumping out notes dug up from memory isn’t as painful for him as it would be for a healthy set of ears. Although I have no idea how or even if you can play the accordion quietly, Grandpa slept right through the whole practice session.

But I didn’t go completely without audience. Batman was there to help iron out the melody.

Grandma passed away almost a week after her 98th birthday. We all thought she’d live to be a hundred. But accidents happen and sometime they change everything.

After the doctors decided there was little they could do, she was discharged to my parents’ home to live out her last days. Thankfully all of her children were able to fly in to be with her, and for the last week of her life she was surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Few people are that lucky.

Since I returned from the funeral, I’ve been taking care of my grandpa and filling my mind and my spare time with a hodgepodge of hobbies: gardening and raising seedlings, trying to learn a song on an accordion, writing and mailing lots of letters. And when Woot offered up a $100 ice cream maker for $30, I took up ice cream making.

Prior to this, my one memory of making ice cream is me squatting in the breezeway of my grandma’s house, surrounded by the flow of extended family, squared off with an ice cream maker, staring in wonderment at the spin and the salts.

With Grandma gone, it’s important to keep those memories alive.

But I wish she were here to taste these homemade creations. I know she’d enjoy them.

So far my favorite is mint chocolate chip (Ingredients: heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, chopped dark chocolate, peppermint extract and green food coloring):

The runner up was last night’s creation. No name for it yet, but it’s a mix of cream, milk, soy milk , vanilla yogurt, lemon extract, honey and ginger:

Not nearly as creamy as the mint chocolate chip, but powerfully tasty and refreshing.

The other flavors tried turned out wonderfully, too: homemade vanilla, fresh strawberry, and sweet cinnamon (which tasted almost exactly like a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and milk, without the crunch).

But honestly, I bought the ice cream maker with I one flavor in mind: Thai red curry.

Curries are made with coconut milk and many of them are slightly sweetened, so why not make one into an ice cream? But googling the idea brought up this website: 101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors From Around the World.

Undeterred by curry ice cream’s association with the likes of raw horseflesh ice cream, pit viper ice cream and deep sea water ice cream, I made my simple batch with three components: coconut milk, sugar and red curry paste.

It came out a pretty, pastel orangish/red hue, and surprisingly, tasted just like red curry (minus the chunks of meat and veggies). But the chill is unsettling. Curry is served hot and spicy, and this tongue-toasting, brain-freezing treat messes with the mind. All I wanted to do was nuke it and slurp the resulting soup along with a mound of rice.

I haven’t made any curry ice cream since, but now the challenge is to find something to balance this gustatory experience. Curry ice cream can’t stand alone, but it’s still disturbingly delicious. Maybe if I add some shrimp, some spring onions…bamboo shoots…red and green bell peppers…

On the way home, we passed an interesting sculpture chained to the sidewalk:

which reminds me of a fixture of the Lower East Side, The Knit Bike:

(photo courtesy of S. Rice)

Someone recently asked me what I like so much about NYC, and though the answer largely has something to do with car-less living and wide social acceptance from anonymous crowds, the proliferation of art and culture also tends to bend my affections. Especially when a large part of it is accessible curbside.

Oh, and there’s the food.  In one day of my stay I had gluten-free mac ‘n’ cheese (and I’m not talking the normal stuff; this was rice macaroni with rosemary, melted brie, roasted figs & roasted shitake mushrooms), gluten-free cupcakes (vanilla with strawberry topping & carrot cake with cream cheese frosting), and delicious gluten-free pizza. It was a whirl-wind of food my brain said I really really really shouldn’t be eating and though it took me practically until the end of the day to relax and enjoy the meals, I am nonetheless amazed at what is available! We topped off my stay with tacos from a Korean BBQ restaurant (fish and shitake tacos may sound bad but are actually excellent) and episodes from Cowboy Bebop, which I hadn’t seen in ages (not food-relevant, I know, but worth mentioning).

Although I didn’t get to ride Central Park, missed my pilgrimage to the Met, and never actually got to be in the city with Batman (we kept missing each other – he really needs to get a cell phone) I still enjoyed every moment.

Upon returning to Long Island, I intended to go for a ride on the less-traveled roads east of where we stayed, but after my week of what I hope is the closest I will ever come to a rock and roll life style (my sleep schedule upended, my skin inexplicably bruised, my feet scabbed from dancing shoes, my liver exhausted from booze and my lungs gasping from exposure to a city’s worth of second-hand smoke) I felt more than a little under the weather and decided to skip the ride. Plus, since I was staying with family out on Long Island, we had more pressing obligations to consume our time:

(As a family, we have learned that it is essential to find Joy wherever one can. Even occasionally at the expense of small, dignified – and hopefully declawed – animals.)

Before I had time to recover and consider another ride, it was time for me to fly home.  Bye bye New York.  With any luck, I’ll be back soon. Next time, hopefully with Batman.

And in the meanwhile, be sure to wish Bruce Campbell a happy belated birthday the Sci Fi Wire way:

Check out the website for more info, the above images and a link to PDFs you can print up and apply to nearby, unsuspecting soup cans: http://scifiwire.com/2010/06/four-labels-from-the-bruc.php

For Bruce’s more recent fans, commenter “brucefan” pointed out on the Sci Fi Wire page that the can labels should remind consumers to be careful when eating scalding-hot soup. Some kind of warning or perhaps a notice about the danger of getting burned…  (If you look closely, the Gumbo Ho-Tep label does include a health warning, but it bares no relation to a burn notice.)

While crossing the country he needed to maintain a relatively constant power output, but since Dad got to ride the last leg of the race, they told him to give it all he had. As Crew Member Bill liked to say, “We put a quarter in him and let him go.” As I understand, he went around and above 30 mph for much of the last leg, and this after six days of riding cross-country with his teammates, climbing mountains, through high altitudes, across huge plains, along interstates, at night, downhill, on bad roads and amidst bad weather. These guys amaze me. Dad, Dana, JV and Willie: you rock. You can read Dad’s ride report here.

Considering they had just biked across the country, they looked pretty good when they rolled across the finish.  Of course, the official finish line was at a Shell station about 3 1/2 miles away. Upon arrival there, they were given a few minutes to clean up and don new jerseys, which we at the family-and-friends finish line greatly appreciated.

After congratulations and hugs (that were, happily, neither as sweaty nor as smelly as they would have been without the complimentary freshening-up stop), the team members got up on stage for a quick interview about their experience and a photo op, then opened a bottle of champagne with the crew to toast the accomplishment. (We got a picture of Dad holding the glass, but couldn’t catch a clear one of him drinking it. You’ll have to take my word for it.)

Subsequently, bikes and riders were packed into minivans with, of course, the exception of my Corsa – Dad’s borrowed backup bike for the race. In the commotion, I retrieved the beauty (oh baby, have I missed you) and spirited it away to our minivan waiting across the parking lot, then caravaned with the rest to the motel.

We slept a bit then spent Saturday’s remaining daylit hours wandering around Annapolis with two of his amazing crew members, Lonnie and Bill, feeding Dad multiple meals from various eating establishments. The afternoon culminated in a banquet hosted by RAAM where Dad was able to really really refuel himself with all the good, tasty, fresh, solid food he was unable to either get or digest during the race. They also received their plaques at that time.

Back at the motel, Dad, my sister and I sat on the back steps, enjoying the evening and talking with Dana and several crew members, one of whom is an author, researching his next book. His first one – Dead Hand Control – looks pretty awesome (and is currently on it’s way to my house), so I’ll be among those first in line for his next. One of these days I hope to publish something longer than a post, but in the meanwhile it’s neat to have the chance to talk to someone who has already been there.

For now, I want to applaud the riders and crew of the Bent Up Cycles team. You guys and gals did a fantastic job of kicking butt on the road and taking care of my dad. I can’t thank you enough. And to those of you who I got to know, I hope to see you again (and maybe ride with you!) sometime soon.

Oh, and though we didn’t get to spend much of Father’s Day with Dad since they had to get back on the road early Sunday morning to head home, we did give him his Father’s Day gift. Can you guess which one we finally settled on?

and their estimated time of arrival. We just rolled into town, but it looks like we’ll be spending the next 5-6 hours rooting for them while milling about, looking for free things to do.  The good news: I brought my camera.  The bad news: I left home without Batman.

(Photo by Terry Hutt)

And here’s the full team in their recently-arrived team jerseys:

Photo by IDKW

It’s strange to watch him prep for this from afar. I wish there was more I could do to help, but there isn’t. So, instead – since it is also almost Father’s Day – I’ve been spending my time searching for a Father’s Day Gift to give him when we see him at the finish line in Maryland. The problem is narrowing down the selection and that’s where I’m hoping that you, the readers, can help me.

Dad’s a diverse guy. He’s a computer nerd, a cycling geek, a mechanic & handyman, an avid reader, an avid eater, a music lover, a scifi fan and myriad other things, so I’ve tried to find gifts that appeal to these qualities. The categories are as follows:

COMPUTERS/COMPUTING

Binary “Dad” Shirt

Though this is probably the most appropriate of all the gifts for Dad’s Day, it may also be the most (obscurely) clichéd.

xkcd Sudo Shirt

Not particularly relevant to the holiday at hand, but I think it would still make him chuckle. Next category.

CYCLING ACCESSORIES

Universal Gadget Wrist Charger

With as much as he is on the road, this might be an interesting accessory. He’s finally jumped on the cell phone bandwagon, but I don’t know if he uses it enough to warrant an on-the-go charger … but maybe we could rig it up to a charger for this:

Helmet Cam

For all the times he gets run off the road, or nearly run off the road by passing cars, documentation could come in handy.  Plus, we’d get to see what it looks like to pedal a bike really really really fast without having to actually do so.  While brings me to the couch category:

MULTIMEDIA

Star Trek Next Gen Movie Pack

Granted, it’s a low-risk move, but you can’t go wrong with Jean-Luc. “On screen.” They have the set in Blu-Ray, but seeing as my parents don’t own a Blu-Ray player and still have beloved VHS tapes that get regular use I think DVDs are the good, middle-of-the-road solution where entertainment technology is concerned. On the slightly more advanced side, there’s this:

Barnes & Nobles Nook eBook Reader

Dad reads through books like fire consumes paper, so something like this would save him the trouble of carrying all those Bible-sized Neil Stephenson books on the bicycle. But since the Nook looks a little pricey, I checked gifts on the other end of the spectrum, too – the free end.

Hits from the 80s

And who wouldn’t love adding another 80s mix CD to their collection?  Right.

FOOD

Exotic Jerky

So this looked like a nice gift a father might enjoy … Then I came across this:

Bacon Moon Pie

Can anything compare? Marshmallow, caramel, chocolate and BACON. Wow. Four BMPs ship in the US for $33, or nine for $116. Plus, the recipe comes in the box. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Teach a man to fish and he’ll feed on bacon moon pies for a lifetime. A shortened lifetime, but a lifetime nonetheless. But, what’s a life without a little spice?

Jug o’ Tabasco

If the bacon and chocolate aren’t enough to cause some celebratory Father’s Day heartburn, there’s always a Jug of Tabasco to aid the process. Imagine how many eggs this would top! How many nasal passages this could clear! They even offer personalized gallons. Can’t help but think that this would make a wonderful gift for someone… But, I have to admit, Dad might be better off with a gallon of this:

Cane Sweeeet Iced Tea

“Dad, I slaved all day over a hot stove buying this free iced tea. Don’t drink it all in one place. Oh, yeah, Happy Father’s Day.” Perhaps it’s a little half-hearted.  But staring at this gives me a craving for sweet tea. I wonder if they will only hand this out to fathers… “No really, my dad is right around the corner. He sent me here to pick one up. Um, and so did my other dad. Yes, I have two. And they both want a Father’s Day gallon of tea. No they can’t share. Because it’s what they got each other for Father’s Day. It’s in lieu of a card. Yeah, neither of them are crazy about cards. I got them ties.”

Ideally I’d get him a lifetime supply of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (then regularly sneak a few), but in place of that I might try this:

Giant Peanut Butter Cup

Wouldn’t last a lifetime, but I could probably make him one on a quarterly basis for a few years. Supposedly, Reese’s already makes the World’s Largest Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but it’s nothing Guinness would be interested in.

And the final category:

MISCELLANEOUS

Bendable Mr. Bill Figure

Actually, this should probably go under the Cycling Accessories category. I originally thought it would make for a good family joke – our first cat was named Mr. Bill (and my brother played Mr. Hand) – but on second thought, while riding across America it might be nice to have a companion who knows a thing or two about physical pain. The “Ohh nooooo!” would be appropriate on those long, steep downhill stretches too…

And that ends the list. Direct all comments and votes to me at ks.polk@gmail.com and if you know my dad and have a better suggestion, I welcome it!

But a close friend from the hometown (practically an adopted sister) visited this past week, and where she goes adventure is sure to follow. So, since she knows so well how to show Batman and me a good time, I thought I’d share some excerpts from our week:

Here’s a “Before” and “After” of a Black Widow we found on my back door:

I was way too nervous to get close to the Widow and certainly didn’t want to put Batman in peril. (Although – interesting side note – my ex-SO found a stunt double for Batman. I have a feeling the new little guy’ll have plenty of upcoming gigs.) Thanks for killing the Deadly Spider for me, Chica!

Now, onto the park:

Unfortunately, due to his perpetually flexed arms, Batman is cartwheel-challenged.

But, obviously D would make a great sidekick.

She’s got all the moves Tiny Plastic Batman can’t muster.

Plus she talked him into joining us for Ladies’ Night at the local bowling alley:

Unfortunately, none of us are that good at bowling, so we focused on messing around with the camera instead.

The Sepia-toned ones didn’t make the cut, but a some B&W’s ones came out neat.

And though negatives make terrible pictures, we both liked this one.

Due to the traditional low alley lighting, most of Batman’s pics didn’t come out well (the light of a flash tends to bring out his cheap, plastic nature), but that didn’t stop us from taking ten’s of photos of him.  We drew the attention of the management and some neighboring lady bowlers. All in all, a good night for Batman.

Earlier in the week, D joined me on an errand to the Bacchetta office and while we were there, Mike helped her take her first recumbent test ride.  Later, after a couple laps on my power-assisted recumbent with me hanging onto the back rack (parent-style) to help her balance, we figured she was ready for a real ride.

So the morning after bowling, we took off down the bike trail to visit the Bacchetta guys.  (As my Corsa is in California with my dad as he trains for RAAM – it’s his backup bike – I had to borrow a ride from a friend.  This Corsa (the black bike in the back) was provided courtesy of Jim Dibble. Thanks Jim! It’s a great ride!)

Mike was gone, so D didn’t get to show off her progress to him, but Jeremy, John and Mark visited with us and helped me work on convincing her to buy a recumbent and move to Florida. Afterward, to reinforce the brainwashing, we headed to check out the beautiful (not yet oil-soaked) beach:

Batman posed with the local pirate ship, then laid out to catch some rays.

After we had had enough sun, we packed up and were heading back to the car when a dragonfly landed on our beach bag.  Either he really likes green or he was just in desperate need of a lift down the beach. Either way, he stayed with us for quite a while.

Finally, we rounded the trip out with a trip to see Grandpa.

Grandpa certainly enjoyed his kiss goodbye and I enjoyed my wonderful week with this fun, encouraging, vibrant woman.  Now we both look forward to the next time D whirls into town to lift us out of our lives, if only temporarily.

]]> http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/05/resurrection-visited/feed/ 1 http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/04/join-us-on-a-journey-to-sign-and-lake/ http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/04/join-us-on-a-journey-to-sign-and-lake/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:08:37 +0000 admin http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/?p=1361 A major perk of the new house is that it’s located near a beautiful park with a lake.

The park is haven to a variety of species of water fowl (help me out if you know any of these):

"Duck" -Jim Dibble

And as with every other lake in Florida, this one has alligators.

Obviously it’s a bad idea to go swimming in this lake, considering the size and abundance of alligators.  Strangely enough, it’s only visibly prohibited in one place, with one sign … and trust me, the alligators I’ve seen roaming the lake don’t strike nearly as much fear into my heart as does this sign:

I’d hate to know the secrets hidden under these waters…

Welcome to the living room:

It’s pretty roomy and not too unique, but it leads to the kitchen which has an avacado-green oven, range and venthood!:

The owner even kept the manual for the range:

Attached to the kitchen is the family room which is also roomy and semi-normal:

From there you can see the backyard which has one big oak that has swallowed a metal hook and is home to a strange, huge fern as well as some Spanish moss:

The 2nd bedroom is nothing crazy, but the guest bathroom has some interesting decor to go along with the squash-yellow (or is it “Harvest-Gold”) toilet and sink which are not pictured:

And finally, my coup de coeur, the delightfully gaudy master bedroom & bath:

Not pictured: the avacado-green sink, toilet and tub.

A few friends and contractors have encouraged us to remodel (or “at least take down the wallpaper”) but if we ever do, we’ll have to sell or donate it to something. We can’t simply trash these amusing trends.  In the meanwhile, this house and it’s decor are a blast. =)