2011 Bucket List: Make a Mincemeat Pie

Oh la la.

I tried making a mince meat pie.  It was on my 2011 bucket list.  My grandma used to make them but now no one does, so I thought HEY!  I will!  This is what I learned:

• The jarred mincemeat I bought was really really sweet. Too sweet.  Must find alternative.
• "Trimming" the edges of you pie means pinching the edges that hang over the pan off.  This is so pieces of dough do not fall to the bottom of your oven and burn.
• My smoke detector actually measures temperature changes, I think.  I can't figure out how the alarm didn't go off since my apartment was full of smoke... due to pieces of dough falling to the bottom of my oven.
• Not thoroughly cooked pie crust isn't that awesome, not in the way not thoroughly cooked cookies or brownies are.  

Pie Fail.

2011 Bucket List: Can you Canoe?

I remember once, when I was about six, that my family and I took this green canoe we have out on Weber Lake.  It was a little wobbly and way different from the outboard motor fishing boat we normally used, but it was green and wooden and there were paddles (these are important 6-year old things).  Since that time, the pretty canoe has hung in my parents' garage, gradually becoming covered with dried flowers and hanging baskets.

Not for long.  This summer, I was determined to put the canoe in water and so for my birthday picnic, we took it with us to Lake Del Valle. Seriously, now that I'm older and have moved beyond "green and wooden," I can recognize a beautiful piece of wood workmanship.

Although it was a bit windy and definitely not warm, we all piled in and headed out onto the lake. We had naval names --- I think Steve was Captain and I was Co-captain.  Brin was First-mate and after a bit of waffling between "poop deck cleaner" and "lookout", Shae chose the high up spot in the bird's nest.   

Look close!  we are out there!

2011 Bucket List: Dance Class!

This summer, I took a Tap class.

I was the only beginner in my class.  I was also one of the youngest students out of seventeen.  A motley crew, we tapped our way sweaty.  Not only did I learn that I really like tap classes (seriously, is there anything better than stomping your feet sometimes??) and that the left side of my body really is a tad slower than the right, I learned a valuable lesson about trying new things.

If you haven't done this recently, put yourself in a situation that is completely new and where you don't have any idea what to expect.  Seeing how you react is as equally interesting as whatever you are actually doing.  When the class began, I was most definitely not comfortable with the fact that I was the only beginner and all these ladies were way better than me.   Not only that, but I couldn't be as good as them, because I didn't know the steps -- I had to learn.   I was awkward and even more awkward and slow... and laughing.  

Perhaps this bucket list task should have been called "do something humbling."  Regardless, taking tap was incredibly fun, I met some great ladies, and am planning on taking the actual beginner class.  So?  Win.  Left side, catch up.

2011 Bucket List: paeLLa party!

Making Paella made it to the Number Three slot on my 2011 bucket list.  Why Paella?  A couple years ago, Crosby, Brett and I ate some entirely mediocre paella in the Mission.  I remember looking at the dish, with its sad rice and little rubbery prawns, and thinking, "I could totally make this.  Better."  Then, somewhere along the line, someone gave me saffron and since I only know one thing to make with saffron, every time I saw that wee bottle I would think Oh Right. Paella.

Who could participate in the culinary adventure with me?  Wander into the world of yellow rice and weird spice Spanish sausages coupling with prawns?  Megan and Jonee of course.  The Kruez's (Kruezes, Kruezsss?) are perfect co-conspirators.  And so, a couple weeks ago, we gathered in my kitchen, let the wine flow, and had a paeLLa party!

And it was pretty dang good. 

Oddly enough, I don't think I really like saffron, but cooking something completely new was fun and challenging and I was really really glad to have Megan's expertise to fall back on.  She fielded comments like "oh, you take the casing OFF the sausage?!?!?" and "mussels have beards???" with complete ease.  Kudos to Jonee for debearding those pesky mussels. 

Since it was my birthday (kinda) Megan and Jonee also brought me the most amazing homemade Carrot Cake with Maple frosting:  

I might have eaten it for breakfast the next three days.

Legion of Honor

Museums you live near, no matter how cool, often get ignore simply because they are 'always going to be there.'  This year, I created my 2011 bucket list and included visiting the Legion of Honor -- I have lived in San Francisco for almost ten years and never set foot in that pretty pretty building.

Last Saturday, sun and fog duked it out and I made my way to the LofH.  I, for certain, found the museum quickly and did not, no did not, get lost in the Presidio, which would have been silly since that is not the part of the city where the museum is.....

LofH is a beautiful building idyllically set along Lands End -- the views alone are a reason to make a visit out there.  The museum itself has a fair share of baroque, impressionist, and neo-classical art and a sizable collection of Rodin sculptures (the Rodin museum is my favorite in Paris.  If you ever have the opportunity, you should go there). I have discovered that the type of art I lean towards can vary on any given day, but I have a general appreciation for usable art: railings, coins, common glassware.  I like to picture the item as it was intended, being passed around a table, grasped while walking down stairs, or passed from hand to hand in a market.     

The LofH generally has at least one exhibit running at any given time.  While I was sad to just miss the Magna Carta exhibit, I was so glad catch the last day of Pulp Fashion:  The Art of Isabelle Borchgrave.  Borchgrave is an incredibly detail oriented artist who recreated past fashions and costumes out of paper.  We weren't allowed to take photos of the exhibit, but you can cruise through her website (image below).  Keep in mind -- that is all constructed from paper, even the lace!.  Absolutely stunning -- I walked through it three times.  Slowly. 

And now, some cool things I saw when wandering:
 

Odilon Redon (French1840-1916)

Vase of Flowers 1901, oil on canvas

 "Flowers are the confluence of two river banks, that of representation and that of memory.  It is the soil of art itself, the good earth of the real, harrowed and tilled by the spirit." -Redon

 Detailed Bust: Victorian.

 A room from King Henry the somethings house.  Same mirror!

 A dad super excited about Rodin, explaining to his son how the artist made the face from a block of marble.  Rodin's Bust of Edward H. Harriman was a great contrast example between the raw material and artistic representation.

Some basics.  Parking: awesome, free, got one right up front.  Ticket: booyah, 20% discount on-line.  Photos: throughout museum, exception exhibits. Crowds: minimal.  Views: awesome.  Building Amazing.  Coffee: Peet's.  Time: FUN. 

Snowpocalypse (2011)

Team Snowshoe!

Call me crazy; the concept of strapping tennis rackets onto my feet and walking through the snow has always been appealing. It makes me think of Little House on the Prairie and how it took them forever to get anywhere and having these mats attached to the bottom of your shoe was not only practical, but entirely necessary. Also, tying yourself to your front door during a blizzard was handy.

So, the Laura Ingalls in me has always wanted to try this thing called snowshoeing. With the Old West image in my mind, a group of ladies and I went up to Arnold to venture out into the great unknown and, well, tramp around. I mean tromp around.

Actually, what we did was strap super fancy flappy shoes on our feet that made walking on snow really simple. We hiked around a pretty area for a few hours, sat on a big rock, ate soup and drank hot chocolate. No blizzard required strings or human chains. No walking ten miles to get flour. Nope. We did, however, get locked out of the cabin for about an hour, but the snow plower with the magic hands finally got the door open. And the next morning, we woke to fresh snow!

Super fun weekend --- and the best picture goes to:

these two divine creatures.

Sykes Hot Springs: an excursion, victory

So, my 2011 bucket list has been percolating in my brain for a couple of months now, and I am totally behind in blogging. My intention was to first tackle the ones involving snow, but lo' and behold, in January Lori decided she want to go on a three day backpacking trip to Sykes Hot Springs in Big Sur. I say YAY.

Middle of January? Sure. Cold weather gear? Why not. Ten miles up and down, both ways? Bring it.

And it was awesome. The hike was hard (harder than I thought it would be), but the views and the feeling of satisfaction -- not to mention the awesomeness of hot springs in the middle of the woods -- were well worth it. The weather was in the 70s and my pack was so much lighter once everyone ate my apples and Brandon and T threw half of my gear back in my car. WIN.

The Hike

The River by Our Campsite.

The Hot Springs

The Crew

Major victories:

Finding the toilet

Using the toilet

No one fell off the crazy log into the River

Fries at Napenthe post-hike

Injury tally:

2/3 of the crew got some form of Poison Oak (poor Adam, but that's what trail candy gets you!)

1 torn calf

1 person with body bruising due to falling (but not off the log!!!)

...

More Pictures here and here .

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