Gingerbread Feast 2013

Rem and Steph's was Gingerbread Feast, Friday, was a full house. Many were ready to get creative with gingerbread, icing, and candy. And what was on their minds? (Or should I say who?) 

The oven finished cooking two pumpkin pies, and was then ready for some gingerbread play.





















(Below left: Daniel makes an entrance. / Below right: [House?] Hippo in the tree!) 

Kathy worked away on a Rubik's Cube, while Claire put together the pieces from her cast iron gingerbread house mould.

Michael and Allison and Rob all thought of the TARDIS, but with blue dye and blue prints in hand, Michael and Allison went to town.

After two years of high concept, but badly executed ideas, I decided to go back to something a little more basic... with a spin...

Steph made it pretty and in the end it was comfortable too for all the gummy bear riders (though, they sometimes were upside down). 

While all this concentration was going on, we'd steamed up the windows (below, including a self portrait.)...

Time passed... and then somehow Rem's beard was clipped. 

More photos of the night here. 

Games Feast at Kathy and Neil's

Me: "You think I have too many of these..."
Paul: "Clothes."
Me: "... in bed."
Paul: "Clothes." 

The answer should have been "pillows", but maybe this was hint?  Kathy simply laughed at us. 

Kathy and Neil graciously hosted a special edition Friday Feast with Games yesterday.  After some tasty baked chicken and fresh vegetables, we started playing Catchphrase. 

Me: "You hire these people to kill someone for you."
Steph: "Assassin!... Ninja?"

Johnwill and Rebecca didn't seem that interested in playing at first, but when they joined in they were incredible!  There was something so to-the-point and precise about their clues.  I was in awe. 

The Borgtron (Daniel) was less in awe, rather all in energy, running 'round the place, looking for the cat, touching things...  Steph managed to kept him at arm's length with a feathered cat toy on stick - might be the most play / interaction I've seen her have with a rugrat :)





After having played so many rounds of Catchphrase, sometimes the words seem familiar.  Not so much last night.  Different reels?  Different version?   Neil got "East Cupcake" and put in a valiant attempt - first breaking it down into separate words...  When time ran out and it was revealed we wondered what the heck the phrase meant.  I was almost worried to look it up on Urban Dictionary (note: it's o.k.).

Next up was Ticket to Ride: Europe.  Played it before, but still took me forever to make any moves.  I blame geography.

Malcolm's Feast

Arrived a late for Malcolm's Feast, but in Malcolm's regular fashion, cooking was still very much in progress.  Paella was simmered in a large covered wok (when opened, revealed huge shrimp) over a fire pit.  People were sitting, talking, and having drinks.

The garden around us seemed even more incredible now I know a little more about the plants and what it takes to keep a yard.  Those 4' planters with begonias - petals tasting like apple (Malcolm pulled some for us sample) - would need overwintering, and maybe even the plants would need to be dug out and specially stored...


Met Louise, a Quebecois who has a wonderful laugh.  She was so charismatic and charming - magnetic!  I found out she studied Arctic fish and heading out soon for more field work. 

Spoke to Mr. Anderson.  No surprise that he appreciates mechanical (self-winding) watches.  Perhaps no surprise either that my fake Phillipe Patek would die while we talked about the craftsmanship and technology of timepieces.  (His and Paul's self-winders, however, continued to go strong.)

I managed to be beat Steph to the chocolate spoon! 

Erik had broken his bike on the way to Malcolm's, which meant I actually could offer him a ride home!  It was a great turn of tables (or perhaps revenge?).  I got to tell him not to be afraid. 

In all that though, it turns out I forgot my back pack.  Just like last time...

Day 1, Part 3: Feast!

Steph: It was empty, but then filled with people in a few hours. 
Rem: And pigeons.
Steph:  Where were the people?
Rem: Where were the pigeons?

Time for Solstice Feast!  This probably would have felt like the longest day of the year for Jackie even if it wasn't actually summer solstice, but she still gamely joined us for dinner and our random conversations.

It was the first Feast with Rem and Steph back from vacation.  Rem fed us a delicious dahl*, with colourful salads and homemade bread. 

I took this as an opportunity to catch up and I learned:

1. Alan is a Canadian record holder as part of his swimming team (where 40 is the average age of its members). 

2. Keith in Calgary had to evacuate his condo because they had to shut down the power. 

3. Rem and Steph had a good time in Venice.  The Croatian islands were "Golly grand", with great seafood just living outside their rooms, roofs brown as terracotta, and ruins (over 2400 years old) were built right into the city.  Their photos here. 

4. Alan plans on "spending [his] time reading analogue books."

5. A flood watch has been declared in Edmonton and Erik's half marathon route is changed.

6. Lions and tigers from the Calgary zoo have been moved to the courthouse jail cells.

7. Neil and Kathy's trip to France was wet and flooded (in contrast to Rem and Steph's heat and sun).  They found there when castles go bad they turn into prisons. 

8.  When Alan makes a fist there's a vein that pulses there.  He seemed surprised we were so rapt with attention.  (Steph: "I don't think my blood goes down there.")

9 There are some really strange (and unfortunate) last names:
- Beaglehole
- Child-harmers (Alan: "Is it pronounced "Charmers"?")
- Pine-coffin

 

* Rem's Dahl, recipe of sorts:

 

1. Fry garlic, cumin seed, olive oil  for 2-3 minutes

2. Add ~ 2 cups lentils (mix of red, green, and French), ~ 5 cups water, bullion (or "Better than Bullion"), coriander, garam masala, sald and pepper

3. Cook for 2 hours, add a little water as necessary

4. With 1/2 cooking time left, add greens (kale and spinach)

Thanks: Sunsets, Beets, and Babe

Happy Thanksgiving Feast! 

The sun was strange... columnar.  But it did set, so we got on with Feasting. 

Rem made spanakopita and roasted beets (in their skins!)*.  It was a little hard trying to think of other tasty foods when we were enjoying such fare, but it had to be done: we must find things to feed Steph (during a regular day, and when Rem is away :P). 


* Jitterbug Perfume had made me believing beet skins were too intense for the weak of heart/nose.

And, then somehow the talk turned to what needs to be done to get Paul as the permanent ESO tuba player.  Maybe "take out" the current one...?  Oh, but he is friend.  (Don't worry, Scott.) 

(Below left: Daniel is interested in the beets?  Steph maybe not so much). 


















(Below right: It's apple crumble for dessert! and Below, below, below, right: A little scotch to go with it.) 

Spreading the News at Good Friday Feast

Malcolm was sporting was he called his "thesis mullet" and completely confused me with his talk about transparency ("Not transparent enough to tell if it was transparent."), which I guess proved his point exactly.

Good Friday Feast was fully underway with lamb in the oven, Guiness in wine glasses, and Steph's sewing box fully open for me to snoop. 

Some sock truths were revealed.  

And then we ate dinner. 

When dessert came, Rem pronounced the cake a special cake and handed the floor over to Paul.
 

Hardly a minute later (Beth clued-in midway), there were cheers and hugs.

Those with the technology spread the news further: Texting / messaging other friends who were not there that night. Further enforcing that I really don't need to update my facebook status. 

Rem: Good job. 
Me: I didn't do anything - he did.
Rem: It's a joint effort.
Paul: Yeah, yo ucould have said no.
Me: That was an option?
Paul: Um... no, of course not.  

Over delicious cake, we received some suggestions for the wedding (there certainly are a lot of possible themes).

"Are you going to as me or what?" ~ Rebecca reveals how she popped the question to Johnwill.

And there was talk about bridal showers (well, amongst the girls).  Which also seemed to have many themes (from bible readings to sex toys and lingerie, to wooden spoons...)


One suggestion from Malcolm was about logistics. He figured if we had a large wedding we could (should) go with the Infinite Hotel. Oh, those Mathies.

 

Fools Feast and Many Misheards

"Speak now or forever hold your peace!"  With no objections, Rem declared, "Then I will hold mine," picked up the last piece of pizza and ate it. He definitely deserved it after making pizza to feed the entire crowd: Ten regulars (Kathy, Neil, Rebecca, Johnwill, Stephen, Sophie, Ken, Na, Paul, and myself), the hosts (Rem and Steph), and special guests, Eric and Angela! 

What a busy Feast!  Early in the evening, we were all in the main room listening rapt to Eric and Angela's upcoming plans: After both quitting their jobs, they had tickets and visas to go New Zealand.  Wow!  To leave everything behind and start fresh in a completely different land... it seemed something of the impossible, and was so thrilling. 

Even when the conversation fragmented into smaller groups, I think most still had their trip on our minds (at least I did)...

Eric mentioned a statistic, "It's 17 to one sheep."  Rem half-listening (then again, maybe fully :P) chimes in, "Hobbits?"

And, as I was learning about Rebecca's pendant (a Huguenot cross), I heard: "I lust for those sheep!" (Um, is that in Settlers of Catan, or was it "cheeks" as in cheekbones?)

Kathy: He's not a man!
Eric: He's more than a man!

A misheard "succulent humanist" (secular humanist) led to a discussion into body types beyond apple and pear. (How about celery, stringbean, carrot, onion, and peapod?)  And how ectomophs and mesomorphs have differen t-shirt requirements.

Kathy: The new Doctor Who...
Paul: Which doctor?
Kathy: Doctor Who.
Eric: Witch doctor?

Eventually, a group split off into the breakout room, and they discussed politics.

Na and I couldn't stay late, and had to miss out on the cheesecake.  However, we did enjoyed a nice walk to the bus stop together and I managed to ask the right questions to catch up on her news.  (New Job?  Yes!  And plans to go back to China in October.) 

The blue from past week is still there... With the workshop at Elite's tomorrow, I can kind of understand why.  But, with her daring jump from the everyday to New Zealand, Angela's also shaken some positive thoughts in me - ideas of possibilities.  As she also said at Feast, "Each day you're beating the record for the days you've survived."  And that's certainly something. 

In Which Stephanie's Birthday is Feasted

Erik: You're a year behind.
Me: I have FIVE days!

Though I should have probably been hard at work at the computer to get my blog up to date, I decided that Steph's birthday Feast would be more fun.  I was right. 

Rem made lentils and salad collide, and helped define "unimaginably large" (where the number and it's square give the same emotional impact). 

 

 

 

Then he made his handmade perogies go splash!

Steph played with her birthday present from Rem. 

And we all talked. 

About socks:

Paul: Friday... Freida, who's a red-head... carrot-top... orange.
Steph: What is Tuesday then?













About French relatives:

Paul: I had an auntie, but she's now British.
Steph: How horrible!

Erik, as usual, didn't like being photographed, but seemed to have a small smile for me while posing with Ralph (the duck).

Steph opened presents. 

We found out "How's your father" is a noun.  So, how's a little "how's your father" ?

Steph proved and the packaging is sometimes more fun that thing inside. 

 

And I found out reasons why running is like smoking:

 

1. It's addictive

2. It's expensive

3. It makes you smell

4. It makes you go outside in the cold for no particular good reason

5. It makes you look dangerous

6. You start (and continue) because of peer pressure.