all snowed up

Didja hear about that blizzard that blanketed the east coast/mid atlantic this weekend? Well, we managed to get smack in the middle of it. Snow began to fall around 9pm Friday night. By Saturday morning, we were under almost a foot and it continued to come down steadily until nightfall. All told, I think we ended up buried under almost two feet of the stuff. Very pretty. But a total mess to clean up. ack!



In other news, I made a batch of lisabea's famous buckeyes to be part of a party spread, and they were a big hit. nom nom nom. And now I'm going to go eat one of the leftover ones because it feels lonely. heh.

And then I'm off to knit whilst curled up in the armchair. It's that kind of day. I hope you are all safe and warm!

hobbies

I've always liked to cook. Ever since my first lesson at age 6 when my dad taught me how to make scrambled eggs, I've been invigorated by the mystery of cuisine. When we lived in the jungle village of my childhood, there were no stores. No roads or cars (or even bikes). Everything we ate either came from the earth or was flown in on a supply run once every few months. So my coming of age included making everything from scratch. Including bread. Yummy delicious, warm fresh bread. mmmm. I fell out of the habit when I lived in my shared housing situation of the past few years, but now that DH and I have our own place, I find that I'm curious about picking back up and perfecting my craft. Besides, it gives me something productive to do now that my MBA classes are over.

Here is a French country loaf I made on Sunday to bring to a luncheon. It turned out pretty, but I need to work on the dough because it was fine-grained and more suited to sandwiches. Needs more of those big air holes and crusty goodness. Still...



The other day I decided to be more creative with my left-over pumpkin puree from T-day, so I found this recipe for a Ginger Pumpkin Braid and gave it a whirl. Let me just say, it was a huge hit when I brought a loaf to work yesterday. And I think I have an idea of what to make as Christmas gifts for people this year. heh.


So that's what I've been doing with my spare time. That and reading an AWESOME book which I hope to post about later this week. Cheers and greetings to all and happy hump day!

festivities

So long, farewell, dear holiday week of relaxation and fun. It was nice to know you. heh.

We had a great time here at chez sula. DH's cousin flew in on Tuesday afternoon to spend T-day with us. He is the only member of DH's family who was able to come to our wedding, and it was great to see him again. Since he lives in the States and not in Africa, he's able to come over here from time to time. We celebrated DH's birthday that evening with homemade pizza and homemade cheesecake (thank you KitchenAid stand mixer!). I decided it was high time we had a GPS unit, so that's what I gave DH as a present. Big success. oh yes, good decision on my part. He loves it. (and so do I, heh).

We spent T-day dinner down the street at a friend's house. I brought some of the food items, she supplied the turkey and other dishes. Some other students from DH's home country also came as well as the mother of one of them (she's visiting this week). So we had a roomful of Africans and a couple Americans and much food and fun was had by all.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we grooved to Michael Jackson tunes and attempted the gingersnap pumpkin pecan pie that I had made (note to self, tinker with pumpkin filling a bit next time around...did not set up well.)

While this all seems like a good time, it got even better the next day. No, we didn't brave the Black Friday hordes. We celebrated Tabaski (otherwise known as Eid Al Adha), the biggest Muslim holiday of the year in DH's country...essentially equivalent in importance as Christmas is here. Back in Africa, one would have purchased a sheep a few weeks ago and kept it in the courtyard to feed and fatten. On the big day, it will be sacrificed and loads of roast meat will be given to the poor and of course, eaten by everyone in the family. Then people visit their friends and family and wish them well, giving them lots of blessings and benedictions for the year to come. Basically, the point is to eat a lot of roast meat and hang out with friends. Which is exactly what we did. Not that we got to kill our own sheep, but we did buy a load of lamb chops and ten pounds of beef from Costco. After marinating and grilling, we gathered and partied African style for several hours. Everyone was speaking Bambara (DH's native language) with some French and a bit of English here and there to help out our Sierra Leonnian friend who is Anglophone...it was like being back in Africa. Good times! :)

Saturday morning saw us up at 5am to bring DH's cousin back to the airport. Our new GPS system proved it's worth as we used it to find another location in the Northern VA/DC metro area after dropping him off. I could get used to this little thing! It was nice to have a weekend to recover from the holidays. I actually don't feel too bad about going back to work this morning. Rather, I feel pretty refreshed and ready to hit it full steam to push through till Christmas.

Hope everyone had an equally festive week and best wishes to you all. In Malian style, here are some Tabaski blessings to send you out...

Aw sambe sambe!
Fa tigiala!
Ba tigiala!
Denw tigiala!
Ala ka san were yiran na!

fabulous friday fail

fashun! we can haz it!

(sorry for the post and run, but this picture cracked me up and I just had to share). Remember the 80s!!!!! :)

what i'm reading

I received this book in the mail after sitting on the paperbackswap waitlist for several months. And then I had a houseguest all last week, so it basically sat on my bedside table waiting to be opened. But now I've started it, and I'm happy to say, it's been worth the wait. So far I am loving the writing style of Ms. Duran. I feel like I'm getting to know these two rather dysfunctional people but i'm being shown, not told. I don't like being hit over the head with two much exposition; give me dialogue and character's interacting and I'll figure it out. So this is really working for me. yay books!

ahoy!

The other night I was feeling very nautical, what with a week full of grey and rainy days. So I rummaged around and pulled out our copy of Master and Commander. I'd forgotten how thoroughly enjoyable a good sea yarn can be, not to mention how curiously attractive Mr. Russell Crowe can be in the right role. It made me long for a good shipboard romance, so I pulled out a Marsha Canham novel. Why isn't she still writing? *sniff*

Anyways, here's to those rousing adventures of derringdo on the high seas. I like to imagine myself participating in a leading role...and then I remember that I get seasick in a bathtub and my likelihood of being Keira Knightly to Johnny Depp's Cap'n Jack is low indeed. ah well.

lazy

I don't have any good excuses for my pitiful lack of blog material this past month. Settling in to married life, I suppose. More likely just plain lazy. After all the craziness of this past year, finishing the MBA, planning the wedding, etc. I think I'm just burnt out. I'm too scared to even look at my Google Reader list of unread posts. sob! I want to catch up but don't know where to start. Hopefully, all my virtual internet frendz will still want to play with me. I promise to get back into my mojo/groove...sometime...soon...

I have been reading though! I picked up three Jeanine Frost books from my library and devoured them all in a weekend. nom nom nom! I officially heart Bones (although s'rsly what kind of a name for a hero is that?) Apparently there is a fourth book out already. I wonder if my library has ordered it yet? hmm.

In other book news, I just received my copy of Meredith Duran's Bound by Your Touch. It may have taken me months of sitting in line on PBS, but to those who are patient, good things come. :) I am looking forward to curling up in our new rocker-recliner (one of those newlywed purchases) and savoring this book. Preferably with a glass of hot cocoa. Or wine. heh.

So what's new in bloglandia? Catch me up to speed and save me from my google reader! :)