Kickin it NE syle

A couple of weekends ago we invited our friends Phin & Carla to come down from New York so we could embrace the fall of New England and go apple picking.
There are a lot of u-pick farms here and this seemed like a lovely fall activity. Of course we added some healthy competition to the festivities by having an apple pie bake off after we picked about 20 pounds of apples.

The apple farm was really fun. We took a little tractor ride and the dropped us off in the apple orchard. There were a few different varieties of apples to choose from and everyone knows that an apple pie is only as good as the apples you put in it.

Jeremy ate about 3 apples while we were picking and they were all delicious! We had our game plan in place for picking the best apples, as did Phin & Carla. We went our separate ways in the orchard to find our prize apples.

Here are some pictures that re-cap the afternoon.

Once we got back to our house, the real competition began. Jeremy and I went with an old fashioned, no frills apple pie. Phin & Carla went with a fancier recipe that required a skillet, food processor, and all kinds of ingredients...apple cider, maple syrup.

While the pies were baking we played some horseshoes in the backyard. I have to say...I really suck at horseshoes. We would interrupt the game to check on the pies periodically. Phin was running up the stairs to check on his pie when the outside banister came crashing down. Phin put it back up and continued up the stairs (This piece of information isn't of much interest now, but it will be as you read on).

Here are the pictures of our pies. Our pie is the top one and Phin & Carla's is the bottom pie.


After dinner we had the official taste test. Although I we did not agree on a clear cut winner, my decision is that our filling was better, but their crust was better.

Sunday was a pretty typical day. We just relaxed and went to Best Buy to get a universal remote. We haven't been able to watch any of our VHS because the TV we got from Craigslist doesn't have a remote, so we can't get to channel 3. We had a gift certificate that we forgot, so I ran into the house to get it. As I was running up the stairs, the banister broke. I fell onto the stairs and slid down about 5 steps. It hurt pretty bad and it sounded even worse. I'm surprised my fall didn't break the rest of the stairs. Jeremy laughed when I told him I fell and called me Boomer, but this fall was not the result of my clumsiness (as most of my falls are). I blame Phin. He is a one man destroyer. I know Phin felt super bad when he found out and I'm sure I looked ridiculous. Jeremy and I were laughing about it.

So...that is the story of apple picking. Our day kickin' it New England style!

The Schacalieu Shack

Here are pictures (finally!) from our humble abode...

Here is the view of our street complete with fall colors.

Outside

The kitchen

Looking towards the kitchen from the living room

Where all the DVD watching takes place

The magic box

The office/Jeremy's sacred place

Side view of the hallway and entrance to bathroom

The glorious ikea dresser that Jeremy built

Where we lay our heads at night

Prize Idiot

If there were an Olympics for the stupidest things people can do...I would win the gold metal!!! Before I get to explaining how my actions would win me the gold metal at the Stupid Olympics, let me tell you about the weekend.

Like I said last week, we would be trying to get to the DMV this Saturday. Well, we set our alarm so we could wake up early and get there a bit before DMV opened. We got to the DMV about 15 minutes before it opened, which was 8 AM along with a few other people. The line kept growing and at about 2 minutes before 8AM, no lights had been turned on inside. The natives started getting restless and one man went up to the door (the other people at the front of the line could either not read or were blind) and saw a sign that the DMV would be closed this Saturday. Why, you ask...good question...two words...Columbus Day. But you say to yourself, "Wasn't Columbus Day on Monday?" To which I reply, "Yes, but apparently the DMV is closed every Monday, so to insure they got a day off, they closed on Saturday." So our rising out of bed early on Saturday morning was for nothing.

Saturday was a beautiful day, it was about 70 outside and just gorgeous. Jeremy and I walked into town and ate lunch outside. When we got back home Jeremy had to do some work, so I made some vegan pumpkin muffins and then decided to take a drive to explore Fairfield some more. This is where the Stupid Olympics come into play.

On my way home from my drive about town, we were low on gas and I decided to fill up our tank. We had a party to go to that evening and I just figured, might as well. This was my fatal mistake...or my road to gold...you be the judge.

So I stopped at the gas station, there was a pretty long line and I debated leaving and just getting gas when we went to leave. If you know me, you know I am persistent, so I decided to wait it out. Finally it was my turn at the pump, I grabbed the nozzle, it was a little tight, but it went in to my tank and hit the button. That Texas Tea began pouring into my tank as I dazed off. I got back into my car and drove home.

We got ready for our evening out and it was time to go. I had forgotten my phone in the house, so Jeremy said he would start the car. (Can you feel it, if I were running the marathon in the Olympics, I would just be about to start taking my lead at mile 20)

I come out of the house and there is a great cloud of smoke coming out of the car and it is making a weird noise. Oh shit!!! Now, we have been having a lot of problems with the car. The latest one being a weird noise, which turned out to be we needed oil. (Thanks Jeremy for not getting that oil change while I was gone) This was not good, the car was running perfectly all day...what happened.

Jeremy meanwhile is cursing up a storm about how he hates this car. We go back inside to figure out our plans. Jeremy had to leave from New Haven at 6 am the next morning and the trains don't run into New Haven from Fairfield that early on Sunday. What were we to do? We checked car rental places, but apparently they all close at 4 pm on Saturdays. Shit!!!

I just couldn't believe the car wasn't working. It had been working fine all day. It was filled with gas and should have been good to go. ( Now, it is mile 24 and I have a great lead in my Olympic marathon race) Jeremy asks me, "Did you fill the car up with diesel?"

I reply as if this was a ludicrous question. I have been filling up my car (by myself) for 11 years now, why the hell would I fill it up with diesel. Then my doubt sets in, the insecurity...I decide I must walk my butt back to the station where I filled up to solve this mystery. So at 7:30 PM Saturday, I walk 1.5 miles back to the gas station.

When I arrive, there is a man sweeping up around the pumps. Of course, I look totally out of place since I don't have a car. I let him know that I got gas here and he wonders if I want a receipt. I tell him no, but unfortunately I am checking to see if I filled my gas tank with diesel. (I am a mile away from the finish line with no one in sight) I tell him which pump I used (I never saw two) and ask if the regular unleaded gas will work with the pump, he tells me no only diesel. Well, shit, this means I filled my tank with diesel. (I am crossing the finish line with photographers cameras flashing to capture the moment) The sweeping attendant then says, "Oh no, that is not good." Yeah, I know. Pissed at myself and wondering how I am so stupid...I call Jeremy and tell him the news.

Jeremy takes the news like any supporting husband...no, I'm not that stupid...it could happen to anyone...he's almost done it before...He was actually happier that it was my stupidity than not knowing what is wrong and needing to buy a new car!

So after all this hoopla, we board the train for the party we are suppose to go to. I am on the verge of tears and my tummy hurt. Needless to say, when we got to the party we made a bee-line for a drink. Nothing like a couple glasses of wine to take the edge off.

Monday my car was towed (I had an advantage for winning my prize as an Idiot, since I let my AAA run out and now needed to pay for a tow). Hundreds of dollars later the Saturn is running like a dream. The automotive guys also gave me a pumpkin....guess they thought that would lessen the blow of how much my mistake was to fix.

Now you know the story of how I am Queen of the Idiots. Gold Champion! If I was in the Olympics for stupidity, I would compare myself to Michael Phelps....no one could beat me!!!

Fallin' for Fall

I have to say that Fall is increasingly becoming my favorite season. The leaves changing, the weather becoming brisk and cool...I love it! Not only does the humidity go away, but I get to bust out my boots and sweaters.

This weekend was fairly mundane. We had it on our clipboard of fun to go to the DMV on Saturday, but we went to a birthday party on Friday and didn't get home until 2am. Needless to say, rising at 7am did not seem like an option.

We slept in on Saturday and then drove into New Haven so that Jeremy could pick up his backpack from the lab. While in New Haven, we decided to catch a movie and grab some grub. We walked from the lab into town and went to Claire's for lunch. Claire's is an awesome place that boasts healthy fair and has vegetarian/vegan options. It is always crowded. Since it was a bit chilly most people sat inside, so we grabbed an outside table. It was a delicious lunch as always and then we walked over to the movies and saw Burn After Reading. My recommendation would be to wait for video on this one. It was entertaining, but we felt as though the Cohen Brothers wrote the movie and re-read it and realized it wasn't that great. The ending of the movie pretty much sums it all up, but I won't give that away here.

Sunday, we discovered that someone (I suspect our downstairs neighbor) moved our washer and unhooked it. It seems as though the electricity is plugged into his meter. So we are unsure if he was pissed and moved it...or who knows? Anyways, our laundry is hanging all over our house in order to dry. I called our landlord because we can't seem to find the outlet that goes to our meter. My question here is, if it was our neighbor that moved the washer, why not just walk up and talk to us about it. I don't get people. Hopefully our landlord will call back today. We figure we need them to hook up a new outlet from our meter.

After spilling flax seeds all over the kitchen and throwing a hissy fit that included me hiding under the covers, I made some vegan pumpkin muffins and hummus. Both turned out awesome! Hummus is super easy to make, I don't know why I haven't done it before. I do need to tweak the recipe to try and get it a bit smoother.

Now we are going to take a little walk to downtown Fairfield, so that Jeremy can treat himself to a birthday movie. He's buying Return of the King...the trilogy at our house is now complete.

That's all from Schacalieu land. Hopefully, something fun, funny or exciting will happen next weekend. We do have a party scheduled for Saturday...so you never know!! Also, I'm sure there will be some interesting characters at the DMV.

The New Blog has Begun

Alrighty, as promised in my last blog...I have started my new blog...Tastes Like Chicken? The address is http://pangegoesvegan.blogspot.com. I hope you check it out!

I have set it up so you can subscribe to my blogs, that way you will know when I update. I am going to try and update at least once a week, if not more. We'll see how that goes :)