Monday, July 30, 2007

Sick Boys

Saw Social Distortion (only 2 of these gents are currently in the band..?) last night at the Casino Ballroom in Hampton and had quite the fun time. A hot, sweaty, good time followed by a dip in the ocean. It always feels good to be surrounded by loud music, fun friends and the heavily tattooed.

Fortune: Happiness is a state of mind.

Another Rant

While I was away for the weekend, a young man lost his life while speeding through our small Wallingford Square. I feel for the family, friends, and others in his life (I wholeheartedly do - I know the sadness and pain of dealing with an unexpected death, especially the unexpected death of young person - and I understand mourners need to grieve), but I'm a little pissed off about the memorial that has popped up at the crash site.
Aside from the fact that the young man died there, (he didn't live there - why do those that know/knew/didn't know him feel the need to commemorate him there?) he also narrowly missed at least 2 pedestrians there. That's the site where 2 more meaningless deaths might have happened. That's the site where a thoughtless guy drove recklessly (60 mph in a 25 mph zone) - endangering other people's lives. I feel it's disrespectful to Kittery residents that this young man is being memorialized at the spot where others could have been badly hurt or killed by his actions. That's my route home - my friends' and neighbors' route home.
One of the pedestrians who wasn't seriously hurt was a neighbor - he was sprayed with glass from the crash. (The guy walking with him supposedly got glass in his eyes.) I'm sorry Justin Harding lost his life in such an awful way, but I don't think his memorial belongs in the square.

Weekend Getaway

Went down to the Albany, New York area for the weekend. Hung out in the country with friends and llamas.
The old(er) Fosters gang.
Everyone.

Celia Thaxter's Garden

My friends and I went out to Appledore Island Wednesday to tour the surprisingly small garden of Ms Thaxter. It was beautiful and we had a nice (albeit hot) clear day. I took around 50 pics - these are a few highlights....






Fortune: You are heading for a land of sunshine.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

I Spy

This week it was a crane and a heron (Tuesday's drive home from work). Last week it was 4 turkeys.

I wish I had been able to take photos.


Fortune: Be prepared to receive something special.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Turkish Delights & Greek Treats



Fortune: Today's a day to nourish yourself. Feed yourself well.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Festival: From the Greek for delicious

By Rachel Forrest
features@seacoastonline.com
July 18, 2007

The menu at this year's Greek Festival at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Portsmouth reads like ancient poetry — dolmathikia, those tangy, tender packets of rice and beef stuffed inside grape leaves; spanakopita, flaky filo-layered spinach; and all those pastries, well, some of the names might require a little help to pronounce if you didn't grow up with them. There's koulourakia, kataife and galaktobouriko, all a mouthful on a few different levels.
On July 20, 21 and 22 there will be plenty of Greek chefs on hand at the festival to help navigate not only the words but the cuisine of Greece, all the fresh ingredients from the Mediterranean, the eggplant, tomatoes and sweet dripping honey, all the dishes that so many have been working on for months.
John and Lorry Hartofelis oversaw the creation of thousands of pastries for the festival this year.
"We had a Greek and American pastry shop in Manchester where we did all scratch baking. We do the homemade cookies. It's all butter, not margarine. We made 3,500 butter twist cookies alone with the ladies," Lorry Hartofelis says.
Hartofelis says that consistency is key in making so many cookies, including the 2,000 sweet butter cookies called kourambiethes, with finely chopped almonds and powdered sugar.
"My husband does all the mixing and I set up the ovens. We have to organize the ladies and make sure the cookies are all one size. It all needs to come out the same way and you need to be sure of the product. We're very fortunate to have the older ladies to help us. There are some younger ladies, too!"
Bess Jack helps with the festival every year.
"We gathered 17 women to make the cookies and someone donated the baklava, someone the shredded cookies with filo. It's all homemade, not store bought this year and the Hartofelises came four times to watch us make it all," Jack says.
Also homemade is the moussaka, layers of eggplant, cheeses and beef with a rich bechamel sauce. This year, the dish is being made by one person.
"At our Taste of Greece Festival last year there were a few different moussakas but everyone came back to the one made by Moutoula Miminas. Everyone was crazy about it. We called her the Queen of Moussaka," Jack says.
This year Miminas, who owns Town Pizza in Kittery, Maine, where she sells Greek specialties in addition to traditional pizza, is making a whopping 50 pans of her family-recipe moussaka.
"My mother made it the way I do," says Miminas. "It's made from all good and fresh stuff — 90 percent lean beef, fresh eggplant, tomato, zucchini. It's taking me two days to make it all."
Miminas is also making the fried dough cookies called, loukoumathes,deep fried dough balls traditionally drizzled with warm honey syrup.
"But I don't use honey, I use 100 percent sugar that becomes a syrup. I've been making it for about 10 years for the festival."
Sam Jarvis, happy in retirement since New Year's Eve after decades as the owner of The Metro Restaurant in Portsmouth, is also looking forward to helping this year.
"I'm going to be working in the kitchen! I might be a prep cook. I'll help make the barbecued chicken, the lamb shanks, the skewers. It's all the foods I'm familiar with and I like the music, the dancing, the socializing. This year there's also a Greek shopping section where you can buy the Greek staple ingredients."
Pastichio with macaroni and beef, grilled loucanico sausage and grilled souvlaki with skewers of chicken will be offered as well in complete dinners all for under $11. And get ready to enjoy some new words when you ask for some of the many delicious pastries this year, all made with the love of Greece and Greek cuisine by the people who know it best.
"We enjoy making all these cookies" says Hartofelis. "The congregation is wonderful and it makes us feel good."

GO & DO
What: Greek Festival 2007
When: Friday, July 20, from 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, July 21, from 11 a.m., to 11 p.m.; on Sunday, July 22, from 1 to 7 p.m.
Where: On the grounds of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church of Portsmouth, 40 Andrew Jarvis Drive
Cost: A donation of $3 per person is appreciated. Proceeds from the Greek Festival 2007 go toward the operating expenses of the church.
Contact: Contact the church office at 436-2733.
Details: A splendid variety of Greek foods will be offered and there will be music to dance to, a dance exhibition by church youth, cultural tables, church tours, souvenirs, raffles and more. Live musical entertainment will feature Ta Pethia and The Makredes Ensemble. Continuous music also provided by D.J. Meleti.



Fortune: May you have a good appetite.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Kitchen Corner


I love these colors together. I used to use a towel under the dish strainer/drainer/dryer, but a thrifted fitty cent cafeteria tray really is a better idea.

Gardens

Boyfriend's parents' beautiful, wonderful garden peppers in the buckets along the edge of the upper garden
tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, and grapes
onions and green beans
cabbage too
In my garden: the elusive, cookie-eyed boy

caught one! he's yummy

Fortune: You won't be bored for long! New adventures are on their way.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Tear it Down



I hope they salvaged that beautiful finial.

You lazy, crazy dog owner, you...

It's disturbing to ride your bike down a little, dead end, residential public road and have a huge doggie run out at you barking, lunging it's head at your peddling feet. More disturbing is seeing no human owner. Hearing not a yell from the owner. Nothing.
My instinct had me raising my foot up and away from the peddle and the doggie who was surely trying to bite my ankle and tear it into shreds. I did not have the instinct to kick the doggie in the head, at least not until my heart stopped racing.
What the hell, dog owner? Why should I have to deal with your dog when I'm riding my bike? Where the hell are you? And who's watching your dog?
This is one of my peeves. It is so annoying when I'm out running and a dog starts to run at me and I have to stop because it's up righted itself and has its paws on me. And always the dog owner is chit-chatting away with someone - too busy to make an effort to control their dog until it has already interrupted my run. "Oh, he won't bite." Lady, I don't care - if it's charging at me and jumping up at me I'm bothered.
Once, this dog owner was on the stoop letting his little doggie out in the morning. I ran by and little doggie is at my heels yipping and snapping at my running pants. I had to stop so I wouldn't step on it as it ran around my feet. All the while dog owner is calling for the dog but not moving from the stoop.
Would the dog I encountered today have attacked if I was on foot? Or was he all excited by the speed of my bike? What would have happened if I had been pushing a baby stroller or had little children with me? (Caution: tangent and a lot of poor sentence structure. I like using that question when referring to dogs and idiots who stop on or cut off folks walking in crosswalks. Because: everyone always questions whether events are child or family friendly and I get so sick of no one questioning whether events are people-in-general friendly. It's as if those without family or children aren't considered. Don't get me wrong. It's great to have all types of people involved in events, but children and families aren't the only ones who count in the tax paying populous. So, I use the "what about the children" question when talking about dog attacks and crosswalk malfeasance because these are the few times the question should be asked. But it actually diminishes the fact that no person -regardless of age, size, speed, intelligence- should have to put up with other people's thoughtlessness. I'm so glad only about 3 people read this blog. Raving. Lunatic. That's what happens to me when dogs attack. Or at least sort of attack. Or bark viciously and chase.)
Do you think I have the right to kick and/or step on threatening dogs? Can I get arrested for that? It would be in self defense. I'm not a violent person. I couldn't even kill the mouse I caught ransacking my kitchen.
But, you - dog owner, what gives you the right to let your dog out unattended? Or to be so lax with your dog's behavior in public places? To the dog owner on Lawrence Street in Kittery Point, if it happens again I'm gonna tell!

Fortune: Ideas you may believe are absurd ultimately lead to success.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Holy Moly

Today was hell day at work. Hell I tell you.
Yesterday I was thinking, "maybe I should stick with this job." The pay sucks, but there are lots of holidays and we get to leave at 2pm on Fridays during the summer if all our work is done. And the hours are only 9-5, not that I ever have time to take my paid lunch break. Nope, I'm not utilized to my full potential, I'm doing clerical work half the time, but the time off is great.
I know, I sounds like an airhead.
Today my mind was completely changed. My thought was, "Run away - fast!" Between one client hosting an underage drinking party, to another client calling the cops on yet another client, to one client punching another - it's like babysitting children. And that was only part of it.
I don't even want to think about it anymore.
You know how the good (old) self help guides tell people to surround themselves with successful people to become successful? Surround yourself with positive people to become more positive - whatever. Insert your own word. I'm surrounded by losers and all their negativity. It's like being trapped in a cage or something. It's miserable. And it won't be long before I become a miserable loser, too. (See - the negativity is already seeping in and I can smell the loserness on my clothes when I get home.)
No thanks.
I feel like giving 2 weeks notice tomorrow. Not the smartest thing to do with no job lined up.
Come on job prospects (shake, shake, shake - roll the dice).

Fortune: You are soon going to change your present line of work.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Market Square to Wallingford Square on foot





Fortune: You will step on the soil of many countries.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Who invited you?

There were 2 hawks (the photos are of the same one) whom attended Baruch's* first birthday party.
Fortune: You have richness in your soul.
*spelling help please, boyfriend.

Friday, July 6, 2007

The Works

Where was I when 4th of July firework displays got moved to the 3rd?
I don't like it.
I bypassed Portsmouth's spectacular display because I wasn't in the mood on the 3rd. By the 4th I was, but by then it was just too late. My other peeve about Portsmouth's display: it goes on too long. I love watching fireworks, but after 30 minutes it's hard to remain impressed. Especially when you know they're saving all the good stuff for the finale. Maybe if I was in a horizontal position it would be better. I dunno.
Maybe I'm just old.

Fortune: Idleness is the holiday of fools.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

4th of July




Fortune: He who hurries cannot walk with dignity.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Moonlight


Fortune: A heavy burden is lifted with a phone message or letter.