Casita Klatsch

Happy Birthday, Homer

We hosted a birthday gathering for Homer on Saturday.  I think Homer had a good time, despite some wicked allergy problems. 

The temps aren't climbing as high these days, which means we were able to enjoy the backyard without roasting. 

I volunteered to bake the cake.  I love a good challenge, and considering Homer is the Cake King, the challenge was certainly on. 

F.O. puts together his famous homemade ice cream

Homer requested a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  After some searching, I decided on a basic yellow cake recipe from The Well-Decorated Cake and creamy chocolate icing from Bon Appetit. 

 

A trip to the second-hand store solved the problem of not having an electric mixer.

Fresh from the oven, the cakes don't look too glamorous. 

But they clean up well.  

Like any self-respecting birthday cake, it stayed hidden from the birthday boy's sight in the cake cover I got at the second-hand shoppe.  Just like Grandma's!

And the moment arrived.

Homer blows

Richard

Homer and some of his fellow revelers

Stuff

Okay, I'm man enough to admit it.  I covet Zane's iPod Touch.  Now that I have seen it up close (and used it quite a lot...much to Zane's quiet annoyance), I want one.  I'm actually thinking more about the iPhone, though.  It does everything the iTouch does, and more.

Justifications

• I do have to replace the mobile phone I dropped in the loo last year. 
• It would be nice to have one machine that does everything. 
• I am an internets junkie. 
• I am not too old for games. They stave off dementia, after all.

Disinclinations

• I have an older phone that works fine.
• Do I really have to be cutting edge?
• It's probably a not good idea to be constantly connected.
• I don't like it when people roll their eyes.

Ramifications

• I'll be (even more) broke.
• I'll be mistaken for a material girl.
• Kicked out of the Witness Protection Program.
• Nicknamed "Psycho Sandy".

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I took Martha to PetSmart yesterday.  She's like Roger...loves her some road trips.

Hooray!  I found someone to take care of her for the 4 months I'll be back in Sydney.  I'm grateful to know some really cool people.

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Blueberries are cheap as chips right now.  I bought heaps yesterday and just made blueberry turnovers.  That's not good.  Sydney Mardi Gras in less than two months, and I'm fat from the holidays.  Gold's Gym, here I come. 

Daily.  Starting Monday.

Burp

Veggie Thanksgiving 2008

Menu:
Tofurky® Roast (prepared by Steve)
Creamed Potatoes and Gravy (Steve)
Angy Black Bitch's Corn Casserole Yumminess (Homer)
Molly Katzen's Dramatically Seared Green Beans with Garlic & Chili (Sandy)
Nava Atlas's Cranberry Slaw (Sandy)
The World's Panch Puran Cranberry Chutney (Sandy)
Sunset's Cranberry Obsession Snow Cake (Homer)

Steve, Homer and I stuffed ourselves silly.  Later, Brian came over for some cake.  We all drank wine, watched Pablo Francisco and Wanda Sykes on DVD and played some trivia games. 

It's been a rough week for me, what with missing my family and mates in Sydney pretty bad.  I was glad...and thankful...to have these good friends to share the day with. 

Steve, our host

Homer and Brian, looking less than excited about Pictionary®

My motto, after losing one too many games

Up On the Roof

Everyone knows the sunsets in Tucson can be spectacular.  To be honest, they can be anywhere.  But in the Old Pueblo, there is something unique and indescribable about the summer sun as it descends behind the spiky peaks of the Tucson Mountains.

The casita has no west-facing windows.  I have to go outside to grab the view, and I often forget to do so.  Last night, I was washing up at the kitchen sink and happened to notice the reflection of a particularly remarkable orange glow.  I popped outside and realized what I was missing. 

The view from my backyard is cluttered by buildings and power lines, so I climbed to my roof for a better perspective.  I am happy I did.  Cameras really don't do it justice, but they try.

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Speaking of the setting sun, metaphorically, this is my last week of summer in Tucson.  I have had a wonderful time here.  Homer has been a swell friend (and landlord).  He has certainly helped to palliate the sting of being separated from my partner, son, in-laws and friends on the other side of the planet.  I can't wait to get home, but I also look forward to hanging out with Homer again, when I return to Tucson.

Because Homer left for a week-long stay in the mid-Atlantic, I may not see him again until October.  He's had me over for dinner quite a few times, and I finally repaid the graciousness.  I will miss all the American fruit pies when I return to Sydney, so I took the opportunity to bake one for him.  I decided upon strawberry, a fruit pie I'd never baked before. 

Baked strawberry pies can be tricky.  Strawberries have a high water content and when cooked, break down incredibly.   This can make for a very messy pie.  Some recipes call for flour in the filling, but most recommend cornstarch, which I also prefer.  Flour adds a chalkiness and flavor that I just don't care for. 

Because cooked strawberries can be very sweet, I added a cup of cranberries to tart it up a bit.  I chose cranberries instead of rhubarb, because when cooked, they yield their own pectin.  (Anyone who has cooked their own cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving knows what I mean.) 

The pie came out well..still just a bit runny, but overall it held up okay.  Homer and I ate half of it in one sitting.  We're bad boys.

Fleeting Summer

Time flows like a river, and its current is swift. 

So said Marcus Aurelius.  In my case, it's always been so.  I cannot believe my arrival back in Tucson was just over two months ago.   But here it is, nearly time to head back to Australia for my mid-year break from the job-hunt drudgery.  Which calls for a cheer.

Hooray!  I get to see my hubby, kid and Southern Hemispheric friends in just over three weeks! 

I finally booked my travel.  (Praise be for frequent flyer miles!)  I'm leaving for Sydney in mid-August.  First, I will stop over in Palm Springs to see Doug & Woody for a few days.  Then, while they are vacationing in New Mexico, I will stick around for a week and lounge in their great house and splash in their pool take care of their kitties.  Then I'm off for LAX and on to Sydney for a couple of months.  I'll be back in Tucson in mid-October to hang out during the fall while I apply for what I hope will be a plethora of academic job vacancies.

This means I'll be in Sydney for a couple of big birthday bashes and for the Mardi Gras Sleaze Ball.  Which calls for another cheer.

Hooray!  I get to go with Mark to Sleaze and be with him as he shows off his new, slim physique! 

Mark has lost something like 50 lbs over the past three months.   I'll be skragging with the muscle bears to keep their paws off him.  Oh, heck, let 'em paw.  At the end of the day, I know he's my man.  And that makes me happy.

My man, lookin' mighty fine as he continues to shed the lbs

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Homer and I went to B Line on funky Fourth Avenue last night.  I really like this eatery and drinkery.  When I lived in Tucson full-time, all three places I rented were  only a few blocks from 4th Avenue.  It's my old stomping ground.  I feel very comfortable among the pubs, thrift stores, tattoo parlors, smoke shops and offbeat boutiques. 

Fortunately, B Line has evolved over the past few years from trendy, tony place-to-be-seen, to friendly, relaxed neighborhood hang-out.  And the food's pretty good, too.  Homer had a black-bean burger, and I had a chicken quesadilla.  We also took advantage of the hour's happiness to have a cheap pint of microbrew. 

For dessert, we both chose the blueberry pie.  Those who know me well, know that I rarely pass up an opportunity to have a slice of well-made fruit pie, especially this type of berry.  The blueberry is my favorite summer fruit.  It is another forbidden one that wasn't allowed in our household while I was growing up.  I'm playing catch-up at a rate of about a cup a day...usually on a bowl of Cheerios or Joe's O's. 

Homer and his fierce tan at B Line

Figs and Such

Homer's backyard fig tree is yielding a bumper crop this year.  Each morning I harvest a few to have during the day.  Fortunately for me, Homer doesn't like them, so I've been told to help myself.

Figs are something relatively new to my diet.  They, along with things like fresh garlic, European cars and Maude, were simply too dangerous for our household while I was growing up.  Tastebud terrorism.  Boy, am I glad I grew up and got out of rural Arkansas.

The relief from summer's intense heat, brought about by the welcome monsoon cloud-cover of late, has let me turn off the swamp cooler for a few hours.  The absence of its perpetual roar means I can actually hear things outside, like the many birds that sing all day around casita.  It's nice to hear them again, especially the cactus-wren couple that scuttle around together all day, flitting here and there, chattering with and scolding each other.  Occasionally, one feeds the other.  It's kind of like Mark and me.  Guess we really are no different from our animal companions.

As I compose this post, I can see my lizard pal doing his daily push-ups just outside my front window.  He's looking inside as he does this.  I wonder if he can see me.  Maybe he's flirting with me.  Despite being enamored with his bright blue belly, I'm not submitting to lizard love.  Maybe I need to beef up the moisturizing regimen, before every legged reptile in Tucson starts baring his tender belly at me.

Sunflowers have been on sale at Safeway.  I get a trio every other week to brighten up the interior of the casita.  Vince painted the walls very dark colors, and with all the curtains shut to keep out the heat, sometimes I feel like I need to start wearing an animal-skin loincloth and carrying a club.  I have noticed that I'm grunting more and shaving less often. 

Besides bringing some happier hues into the casita and celebrating my status as a native Kansan, the sunflowers also make for some fun camera play.  You know, I'll never get the hang of it, but it's amusing to practice.

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Finally, the bug du jour, for Doug.* 

*I'm sure it's not exciting for him, but I get to practice.

Sunday the 6th

The last day of the long weekend saw another pool party and a trip to Lani's house in the desert.

I don't often feel like a daddy, but most of the guys at Scott & Victor's pool party were in their 20s and 30s.  Homer and I felt like the elders of the crowd.  Fun guys to hang out with, nevertheless.  And some pretty awesome plants around their backyard.  This one, in particular, was fairly entertaining to look at.  They call it Ms Hottentot.  I think it's pretty self-evident why.

 

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For dinner, Lani cooked up a couple of incredibly tasty homemade pizzas for us.  Norene, another choral conducting grad colleague from the UA, gave me a lift out there.  She and I go way back.  We both first moved to Tucson in 1995, and we've kept in touch on and off ever since.  It was wonderful to visit and catch up with her.

Lani, Chuck and Norene

Chuck and Lani's home is situated about 20 miles east of downtown Tucson.  It's a beautiful area, very distinct from my local environs in the western part of town.  I've posted some pictures of the plant-life around their house before, but when I saw the sun setting, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few more photos.

We passed a roadrunner about a half-mile from Lani's house.  I missed a better photo opp, but at least I got it on camera.  It's only the second roadrunner I've seen in all my years in Tucson.

I hadn't seen a sunset with colors quite like this since I lived in Santa Fe.

A spectacular giant agave that bloomed last year and is still hanging around.