A perfect trip.

Along the Schuylkill River on our way back

It must be admitted that we returned to South Philly to realize that I had left my bicycle lock at the park. So without resting we biked there AGAIN and back, meaning we biked 40 miles that day including our trip to the Clark Park farmers’ market and Mariposa Co-op in West Philly.

Patoot

So I thought about all of my good posts, which is easy because there are like 4, and mostly they are written about an adventure, exploration, or new experience in Minneapolis, when I was still discovering the very basic elements of that city. They weren’t rants about stupid crap, complaints about the fucking HUGE neighbors next door who drive to Dunkin’ Donuts every day and return to the house with 4 horse-sized warm beverages. Or the trash that finds itself all over, that’s ALL OVER, the city of Philadelphia. Those are true facts, indeed, but they’re nothing to worry about and are kind of funny. Maybe.

On with the story, then. On Friday morning I walked through center city with chandler to 30th Street Station. We left the city:

Okay, sorry.

We left the city:

That’s much better.

As a side note, I must say that I actually love the first photo. If you look closely, you’ll see that the garbage receptacle there is covered in a publication of the “Unlitter Us” campaign, which is a great thing. However, there’s a huge-ass pile of trash right next to it here. Oh, Philly.

We took Boltbus both ways between New York and Philly. Boltbus refunded Kira and my tickets when their bus was 3 hours late in Boston once, and we didn’t even ask them to. I am a fan now. Not as much of the trip between Philly and New York, though. I love oil refineries and suburbs, but come on. Why the need for so many trees???

I joke of course. There are lots of trees, but also enough refineries where people just love big pipes with flames shooting out of the tops. Once the two of us got to Manhattan, we unnecessarily practically ran to Grand Central to catch a train to Poughkeepsie. We could have stayed amongst the hustle and bustle of New York, and it was pretty chaotic that Friday afternoon, but I haven’t had a chance to be in Poughkeepsie at all, so we hurried onward in that direction.

Our tickets claimed to have been purchased at 12:46pm. Our train was scheduled to leave at 12:45pm. That is to say, we did our fair share of running. Then the train was packed!!! Honestly, how could so many people need to get to Poughkeepsie or points in between at 1pm on Friday afternoon? I suppose it’s good for them to choose to work less. Maybe they had all just been laid off.

We arrived in Poughkeepsie at about 2:30pm after a very relaxing ride. We are now used to an almost complete lack of good scenery on the train to Wassaic, which is far closer than Poughkeepsie is to my parents’ house. Riding on the east bank of the Hudson River, however, from New York City to Poughkeepsie, is shitting scenic, believe me. I’m amazed that I didn’t remember the trip as being so pleasant, because it really, really is. The sun was shining, and although the water was actually an amazing shade of mud-brown, from our angle on the train it glittered in watery perfection. The leaves hadn’t changed in color as much as I had expected, but my sunglasses provided an artificial improvement and to me the foliage appeared to be pretty spectacular.

Once in the station, we walked to Soul Dog and ate some delectable veggie-chili-sauerkraut-veggie-dogs and french fries. The guy working at the Dog that day was really funny and the whole inside of the place exuded a kind of liberal, intelligent feel that I certainly do not associate with the whole (or really, part) of Poughkeepsie. We continued walking all the way to Vassar, passing through some really sad neighborhoods, sad because the buildings are boarded up, most people are wondering what the two gay white guys are doing there, and pretty much everyone has a sad or vacant expression. Jeez.

Being at Vassar wasn’t extremely exciting. Everything on campus was pretty much as it was the day I left, excepting a few details like the renovation of Davison house, which has left it looking quite stunning. We walked through the chemistry building several times, and sadly the administrative assistant, Marge, no longer works there, and I could not find a single faculty member that I knew. It was, alas, 4:30pm on a Friday.

In between our travels to and from Philadelphia were wedding-related activities, including a wedding. Yes. It was the wedding of my cousin, Kate, who grew up in Poughkeepsie, and her fiance/husband Adam. They both live in Philly, which is cool. Let me just say this about the wedding: it was really great. There were many personal touches apparent during the ceremony, and no single person or group seemed to be controlling in a way that can be quite annoying. We listened to some great toasts and little speeches, and there were 4 excellent musical performances, 2 involving Adam, who guitars and sings. It was all splendid.

On our final day in town, Sunday, I walked the Walkway Over the Hudson with Chandler and my father. This is a huge old train bridge that hasn’t seen train traffic since the early seventies. In the last year or two, it was made to support a walking public, and it is now a gorgeous pedestrian bridge and center for cultural activities on both sides of the Hudson River. The bridge is so tall that one can see far south down the river toward New York City, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge right next door appears unexpectedly small. The walkway was packed late on Sunday morning, which was great, as I don’t think Poughkeepsie has seen that kind of action since the 19th century. The only sad observation to make, if you’re me, is that in an overwhelmingly African-American city center, the crowd on the bridge is about 95% white. This is an INSANE contrast to the streets below, in the heart of Poughkeepsie, and I hope that this changes. I hope that someone important cares about it.

So we traveled back to Philly. I didn’t bring my camera to Poughkeepsie, but the photos I would have taken would probably have been disappointing compared to my memories of the wedding, family, and walking the bridge. The weather continued its perfect streak and I read Bill Bryson’s account of traveling in Europe and ate A LOT of snacks while the train rolled toward New York City, and the bus rolled (more noisily) toward Philadelphia.

Patoot

Rawr!!

Now I'll rest on this open cookbook.

-Patoot & Rose

Why is it so great? Well, for starters, this:

It’s the bridge I take to get to and from New Jersey. Incidentally (not really), Chandler and Eaouin are below it in this photograph. And the train is on the bridge at that moment.

So that’s just awesome. But the presence of this bridge doesn’t explain why coming back is so wonderful.

Last night I sat in the front seat of the train, so I had a clear view of the landscape surrounding us. As we approach Camden, and this bridge, we begin to see the buildings of Camden with their little lights, and it’s nice, and then all of a sudden, Philadelphia’s couple of tall skyscrapers explode from out of nowhere and appear impossibly huge. No joke. I love it.

As we crossed the bridge and were almost over land again, there were dazzling city lights everywhere underneath the bridge and stretching out for miles, and at that moment the Market-Frankford elevated train glided out of a tunnel, heading northward.

Add to my list of best things ever: Seeing rail transit while riding rail transit. Check.

-Patoot

There’s so much to tell I don’t know where to start. Living here has meant walking a lot, every day, and riding bicycles too, although not as much as in Maples. Chandler and I buy food at lots of places, including farmers’ markets, whole foods, a farmstand in the reading terminal market, and the food co-op in west philly. I suppose buying food is a boring fact of life for most people, but not for us.

The rowhouse apartment is fantastic. We like spending time here, because of this. I’ve been reading, crocheting, gardening, cleaning up the block, and working! I am teaching organic chemistry I at camden county college and it’s, well, amazing. I’m not really surprised by this. I was surprised to get the last-minute job offer, though.

Eaouin just left after a week’s stay. I saw her and Adam a lot. We had fabulous times. I miss her, and her visit made me miss Minneapolis, actually. I can at least look forward to a trip there in March now, which will very likely happen.

A little over two weeks ago we welcomed her into the house as well. Her name is Rose, and she’ll be staying.

I would really like to write more interestingly about something specific soon, but until I can focus properly this’ll have to do.

Pateet

I’m in love.

Also I’m up at 4:54am because I took Excedrin Migraine, which contains CAFFEINE.

No sleep!

-Paroot

Two weeks from today I will be completely moved out of Eaouin and my apartment, staying with Eaouin for a final 2 days in Maples. On Saturday, Nick’s parents threw us a going-away party, which made the impending move seem really, really real, finally. I’m feeling a mixture of apprehension (leaving Minneapolis) and excitement (a ‘new’ life in Philly). Nick’s parents found us a beautiful art deco table made in Pennsylvania in the forties, with red metal legs and a white and red enamel top. Just what my mom had discovered in Vermont, I’m pretty sure! I was very surprised and find it an extremely thoughtful gift.

Oh, here’s the front of our apartment, and me:

So we’ll be a bit more prepared than before to have real lives after we move, although I’m still figuring out a job for myself. I applied to be a chemistry professor at Camden County College, and I’m waiting for a position to open up at the Community College of Philadelphia so that I can do the same there. I am beginning to think a little more creatively, too, but that’s coming slowly. For instance, I looked at jobs at the Free Library of Philadelphia and found available positions for after-school leaders at various branches. I’m pretty sure that would be a good thing for me, but of course I’m nervous about how well I’d do organizing and implementing little enrichment activities. I’m going to think about it a lot more while hoping that those colleges send me an email. That would be fine.

Patoot

Oddly, I am sitting down now because of something that came to me, rather than the simple urge to write something that like 5 people will see and say ‘uh’ to.

The thing I’m marvelling at this morning is that I appear to be losing weight. And here’s something to keep in mind: over the last 2 weeks I’ve been eating anywhere between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (sometimes a little bit more) of coconut oil every day. I also finally made tapioca pudding and pretty much ate an entire can of coconut milk. I’ve also been going to cafes and eating muffins like it’s going out of style. This last one is pretty normal for me though.

But I at least didn’t expect to lose weight while eating a pretty significant amount of coconut oil, which is basically 160% saturated fat.

Why, you ask, am I eating plain coconut oil? Let me explain: 1- It’s actually crazy tasty. 2- I was unhappy with my skin tone and I heard that eating coconut oil helps. 3- It was way on sale at the wedge.

What, you ask, results have I seen? Well, my skin tone is a little nicer. And I feel great.

However, I’ve also been drinking warm apple cider vinegar drinks. For example: a cup of hot water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and honey added, with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I’ve also been adding a tiny amount to cold water from time to time. It’s supposed to help with acne.

In any case, doing these two things simultaneously has really improved my acne and skin tone. I even went one day without any benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid and got no new pimples (really unexpected; my acne is that bad).

But seriously. Losing weight? I admit, I’ve been doing exercises regularly, but I pretty much do that always. And I’ve been biking constantly since april. And when I shaved my face yesterday the skin under my jaw is now concave. Like there’s less there. Like it’s being sucked in. WTF.

Really, that’s fine with me. Because, for the record, I highly enjoy cookies, ice cream, scones, muffins, pancakes, cake, brownies, tarts, croissants, pies, whipped cream, butter, hot cocoa, donuts, turnovers, and coffee that’s actually one part coffee and one part half & half. And I’ll just have to keep consuming these things to maintain a body that isn’t emaciated like it was during the summer that I moved to Minneapolis and only ate rice, beans, and celery.

Patoot

Today has been a day of bicycling, cafeing, knitting, and all-around fun. I can’t complain about that.

Lyndale Avenue was open to only people on their own feet, on bicycles, and on rollerblades and skates, i.e., closed to auto traffic, for 4 hours today. Open Streets MPLS 2011. Guess how it was to walk and ride around that?

Yes, you’re right. There were a LOT of people out. The scene was far more beautiful than that of the Midtown Greenway, even when it’s packed and people are ecstatic and enjoying perfect weather. Because today, there was no greenway with grassy walls boxing everyone in. There were houses and yards, some picnics, open doors of stores and cafes, music coming from various sources (including people on the sidewalk with instruments), and people enjoying it all without also having to inhale the noxious fumes of idling SUVs or being honked at and sworn at by irate drivers. I regret not having brought my camera along, but I also appreciated taking it all in without the pressure of thinking about what would make a good photograph.

Chandler, Eaouin, and I rode our bicycles slowly up Lyndale Avenue from 42nd to 22nd, where we stopped at the Wedge for some produce and peanut butter. Then we sat in Cafetto and enjoyed warm beverages and cookies before bicycling back home. Again, photos would be nice, and I’ll make more of an effort in coming weeks, je promis!

The one photo I have to share is YET ANOTHER of delicious bread.

On Friday I finally succeeded in following a rather simple recipe on the site I mentioned last time, thefreshloaf.com. Compared to the white italian bread, this just needs a little extra attention in the form of kneading, including during the preferment prep.

This rustic bread also contains a lot of my favorite flour, gold ‘n white, although it also contains rye flour (or potentially whole wheat). The preferment is considerably harder and drier than that of the italian bread, and the final product is similar, but, in my opinion, a little better. I followed the great recipe given here, substituting bread flour, as always, with gold ‘n white flour. Then after the first rise of 2.5 hours, I added a lot of chopped garlic chives that Chandler planted in our garden. I actually biked to the garden during the rise period to harvest the chives. They’re fantastic. This is good bread.

Finally, life in general is feeling a bit weird. I am moving to Philadelphia with Chandler in less than 2 months. I feel that I’m putting a lot of energy into every single day here, and I am personally enjoying the weather, the city, the people, and the neighborhood even (sort of). But with pretty much everyone aside from Chandler, although I feel the same as I always have, those around me seem to be always aware that my presence isn’t a permanent thing, that I’m choosing, in effect, to no longer be around them, which is an uncomfortable situation.

It could be me, of course, realizing that I’ll miss Minneapolis and new and old friends. And there’s of course the fact that even though I shouldn’t be stressing out about a future that I don’t have much of a grasp on right now, I am of course always thinking about what I’ll eventually do in Philadelphia, which is still uncertain.

I was hoping that this time before the move would not bring statements like “I can’t wait for….” some new thing that’s on the horizon, but, alas, it may. I’m not sure exactly how I feel these days.

-patoot

This is such good bread. Sometimes I call it sourdough, but it’s really not. It’s just squishy delicious white-ish bread. Once I traded someone a loaf for a large bag of homemade cheezy kale chips. They were delicious. She sells her chips at the farmers’ market in Nordeast and thinks I should sell my bread there.

Way complicated for me, but thanks. Seriously.

The recipe I found was on thefreshloaf.com, which is a pretty great site with many bread recipes. I’ve found that you can go without any dairy, contrary to what is suggested there, and I literally JUST realized that I haven’t been putting in the 2 tsp of yeast called for. I just use the 1/2 tsp that I put in the preferment, and it’s not instant yeast but rather active dry yeast. I wonder if that helps me. Anyway, this bread is basically flour, water, and a tiny amount of yeast. Wonderful.

Ingredients: (2 loaves)

Preferment

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup gold ‘n white flour
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Dough

• all of the preferment
• 2 cups gold ‘n white flour
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups water

What you should do:

1. The night before, mix the yeast with the cup of water and beat in the cup of flour. Cover and let sit overnight.
2. On baking day, plop the spongy, gooey preferment into a large bowl and add all of the remaining dough ingredients except for flour.
3. Beat in the flours 1/2 cup at a time.
4. Knead for 10-15 minutes. It tends to be a wet dough, so keep extra flour around when it starts to stick badly to your hands.
5. Drip some canola oil into a large bowl. Form the dough into a ball, rub around in the oil, and then flip the oiled side to the top and place in bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours. It should double in size.
6. Go to another room, turn on some good music, and sing along while dancing in a way that would make the average person stare, confused.
• Alternatively, wash clothes by hand, pick up trash on your street, or just go for a long walk.
7. Punch dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
8. Split the dough in half, shape both halves for bread pans or baking sheet, and let the loaves rise in pans for 1 hour, covered. They should double in size again, but this doesn’t always happen for me and the bread turns out fine.
9. Preheat oven to 425F. Brush tops of loaves with water and mark a slit in the tops.
10. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating after 20 minutes.
11. Slice a piece of this shit while still warm, top with some butter, and consume.

I really like baking this in traditional bread pans. This way it could be a nifty sandwich bread. It is so good and so simple.

Here’s a link to the original recipe.

Everyone should bake their own bread.

Patoot