Pi Day 2012

Is it officially Pi day, or Pie day? I have been confused since the 14th. On March 14th, 2010 David asked me to marry him. And I said yes. :) 

David has many fond memories of when he was serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany. One of the desserts he fondly remembers is applesauce topped with whipped cream. It just so happens that around this time I got a craving for homemade applesauce, so I made my way to the Farmer's Market and bought A LOT of apples, but only for $75 cents a lb!

There are were 1-3 apples in the pot by the time I remembered to take a picture. These are York apples and according to the apple chart at the market these are especially good for applesauce. I agree, how convenient. (Pardon the shadow).

They are very sweet and crisp, but for some reason they are rather odd to eat out of hand. For one thing they are huge (think my two fists put together) and they bruise easily, but bruising is completely ok, if not welcomed a bit, in applesauce making. I roughly followed the recipe found in Kirsten's cookbook (the American Girl doll). 

Cutting AND pealing the apples was exhausting. My hand was cramping at the end, but I did it in the name of love. And hunger. And I did it all by hand, with the exception of the apple slicer that fit only five of the apples. If I do say so myself, I got pretty good at peeling!  Previously I felt my peeling skills were lacking--I was neither quick nor accurate.

I tried to get a picture that demonstrated how many apples were in my tall pot.

This is what the applesauce looked like after cooking and mashing. I used a potato masher because I prefer chunky applesauce. I was worried the applesauce would be on the sour side, but to my amazement it was incredibly, naturally sweet. No sugar added! 

I also made purple potatoes that I found at the market the same day. I was so disappointed I couldn't capture the true color of the potatoes. In this picture they look much darker than they should be. And certainly more ominous.

After I cooked and peeled the potatoes they looked like this. It is still the wrong shade of purple; they should be much more vibrant.

This picture is a little better, but the lighting is too yellow.

For dinner we also had sautéed green beans and sparkling apple cider that has been sitting in our fridge since early January. The purple color is a bit better in this picture.

And of course we had applesauce and whipped cream for dessert. I was SO excited to surprise David with the applesauce. The only food item he has raved about to me more is quark (pronounced kvark), which is a type of cheese.

David also sweetly surprised me with a small apple pie. I love how thoughtful he is! Afterall, you've got to have pie on Pi day!

Anna Ruby Falls

Confession: We hiked Anna Ruby Falls in October 2012. But, there are pictures of us which I know you are all dying to see. 

Beautiful, isn't it?  It is basically a series of smaller waterfalls.

Picture of me with no makeup...David made me get up early.

Picture of David:

Picture of us:

We went beyond the falls and took a longer hike that ends at the town. We only ventured part of the way seeing how it was 12 miles and we were woefully unprepared for anything more than a hike to the Y in Provo.  You see, the hike to the falls was so easy we saw countless senior citizens (the kind who walk slow because they can't walk much faster... was that offensive? Hope not...) And while it was steep it had nothing to what I was expecting. Furthermore, it was paved the whole way. A mile or so past the falls the path meandered towards a tunnel of branches. We couldn't see what was on the other side of this dark, murky section of the woods. The camera exaggerates the difference, but the bright, cloudless sky above did not easily penetrate the protecting boughs.

There was magic in this place, I could sense it. The area imposed a duality of both apprehension and repose. My imagination conjured images of the past and of where the tunnel might lead. An ancient civilization still inhabited by creatures known only in myth? A terrible event too tragic to narrate? There was a lingering sense that it's history was not truly in the past. That whatever happened produce this feeling was merely suppressed, lurking just beneath reality.

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The hike down we saw a millipede! We waited for it to finish crossing the path before continuing. What a fascinating creature. 

The End. 

Dear Mom #2

It's about time I wrote you another blog-letter. We have been going to the Atlanta Symphony a bunch. In these pictures we were on our way to listen to Bach's Mass in B minor. The flute solos were lovely. I simply love Bach, but the music did get a tad old at the end. My ears were tired of Baroque music; the whole concert was Bach's Mass in B minor. 

We have also listened to Beethoven Symphony no. 5 and no. 6, Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin (fantastic piece, by the way) and Rapsodie Espanol, Mozart's Bassoon Concerto (why have I not listened to this piece until now?!) and Violin Concerto no. 5, Stravinsky's Firebird,  Rachmaninov's Vocalise, and other composers such as Grieg and Sibelius.

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You MUST try this recipe. It is essentially macaroni and cheese with hotdogs. But we didn't add cheese and instead of hotdogs we used keilbasa sausage. We also used whole wheat pasta. The noodles cooked in the cream/milk/tomatoes with green chilies mixture. You can find the recipe here. It is certainly a keeper. 

This picture was after it had cooled. 

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David and I agree that Atlanta's economy is picking up. There is construction everywhere! These pictures were taken from a stairwell in our apartment complex. We've heard rumors they are building an apartment complex. Maybe it will drive our apartment rent down!

Notice that there seem to be two projects going on at once--one is on the block kitty corner to us and the other one a block next door to it.

 

And a self-portrait in the stairwell. 

This picture was also taken from the stairwell.

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I've told you how bad Atlanta traffic is, well here are a few examples. 

Add in poorly timed stoplights and it is a monster. I once made the mistake of being in the traffic pictured above. It took me a half an hour to get through it all.

This picture is above the freeway. Pardon the fact that the fence is in focus and not the cars...I have yet to figure out how to do that. This traffic isn't too bad, though. It's often much worse. And I get to travel in it. Goodie.

Last Friday we went to Figo Pasta. The food was not the tastiest, but the details they put into their restaurant were we certainly charming. I mean, look! Our water was in mason jars. Overly stylish? Maybe, but the fact that they even did it was nice touch. 

The table marker was our pepper mill. Ours was a rather boring dark red with martini glasses, but I saw a bright turquoise one being marched away to another table. 

We heard their meatballs were fantastic so we ordered two. Each one was $1.50 and while it was delicious, the price per oz ratio was quite comical. And disappointing.

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I miss you and the family so much! Please come visit soon. :)

It's Spring in Atlanta!

Oh how I love Atlanta Spring. It has been in the 70s the past two days and I'm not complaining one bit. Yesterday David and I went out for a walk at Grant Park. I was testing out my new camera so I apologize if they aren't the most pristine photographs. (Yes, Mom, this post is for you. :) ) 

These pictures are what you see as you pull out of the parking lot area of our apartment complex. (The road also serves as an exit for a small strip mall. 

This were taken en route to the park. 

Leaves! They do exist!

Here is a sampling of the beautiful foliage of Grant Park. Hope you like the pictures. :) 

I blame the wind for the blurriness.

I looked out the window and what did I see? Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!

Not everything was blooming, however.

I spy with my little eye, a cutie named David. 

And these leaves never did fall...

And last but not least, proof I was there. :)