Samosa Pie

Rob and I love samosas -- those crispy tetrahedrons of pastry filled with potatoes, onions, peas, and spices. We've become quite handy at forming the individual samosas, but I was still looking for a less time-consuming way to get my fix. I remember making hamburger pie as a kid and figured that a samosa pie had to be pretty darn tasty.

I typically use the samosa recipe in Manju Singh's The Spice Box: A Vegetarian Indian Cookbook and wanted to use that for the filling, but I wasn't sure about the baking time for pie and those other important details. I asked the interwebs if such a creation had been attempted before, and I found this blog entry at the cooks and the curious. I used their crust recipe and cooking times, a double dose of samosa filling for the pie, and it turned out fabulously! I think it might have been the best pie crust I ever made. We are stuffed and happy.

Our first Christmas

It started with Pumpkin breaking into Zellie's food, even though we gave him an extra big breakfast...

I got a new game! We'll both play it, but I think I like it more. We both love regular Blokus and have wanted to try Blokus Trigon since we saw it being played at a Mensa games party.

And Pumpkin got a self-help book, even though cats don't need any help. He is such a tolerant kitty to let us put ribbons on him!

It was a great first Christmas! And it's even starting to snow in Virginia. The weather prognosticators are consistently bi-polar on how much we get, ranging from "a dusting" to "snowmageddon part 2"! I'm hoping for somewhere in-between.

The Snowflake Tree

My friends Kris and Kevin in Maryland have enough Christmas trees in their house to rival Macy's. My favorite is the snowflake tree.

Someone at Safeway has a sense of humor.

That's just too good to be unintentional.

Oh Solstice Tree...

I admit, not the best picture ever. But it's a pretty tree! I think lit Christmas trees are about as difficult to photograph as black cats.

We did have to move it out of the window because it was blocking all of our light. But it can still be seen from outside, so I can see it when I'm coming home from work. At this time of year, it's fully dark here by about 5.

I was interested in the effect of being both farther south and east of where I used to live, and it turns out that we get 20-25 more minutes of sunlight in the winter than our friends in Michigan, but we get it earlier in the day since we're farther east in the time zone -- so we'd have to get up awfully early to take advantage of it. Darn you, standardized time!

Tinsel Trifecta part 1...

Rob and I have the good fortune to have three Fancy Parties to attend this year. I'm a contractor, so two of them are mine -- one at the home office in Detroit and one with my clients here in the DC area.

First up in the Tinsel Trifecta was my home office party. Rob was a trooper and flew with me to Detroit very early on Friday morning since I had important tedium to attend to before the festivities, and he flew back Saturday afternoon. I stayed until Monday for still more meetings.

Unfortunately Detroit had hardly any snow for us, but it's always good to visit the Great Lakes State and see old friends! And also to have cheap breakfast at a coney island in Dearborn. There aren't any $4.79 breakfasts to be had in Northern Virginia, unless it's just toast and juice.

Our first Thanksgiving

Rob is out of leave days this year to go visit family, so we had our first Thanksgiving dinner for two. It was also our first vegan Thanksgiving. I wouldn't call myself vegan, but I tend to cook that way at home. We had lentil loaf, mashed potatoes, candied yams (complete with vegetarian marshmallows), stuffing, cranberry relish, and dinner rolls -- all home-made! And a bottle of lovely Michigan wine, of course. Rob had pumpkin pie for dessert and I had a home-made cinnamon roll.

Even though we were only cooking for two, it still took about 3 hours of work in the kitchen to get everything on the table! And we still have abundant leftovers to last for a couple of days.

The big tree is all decorated but I don't have a good picture of it yet! Just this one of Miss Zellie resting underneath it. It's her favorite place -- and we can't begrudge a kitty for loving velvety hiding places.

November in Virginia = awesome.

Yesterday Rob and I went for an autumnal saunter at the C&O Canal NHP, on the Maryland side of the Potomac. It was in the mid-60s, sunny and golden! There was quite a line to get into the park as DC-ites squeezed the most out of the glorious weather. I didn't take any pictures of the throngs since we opted for wooded paths -- I still can't figure out why more people don't venture into the woods and stay on the towpath instead. The trails are well-marked for the most part, there are no bears, and the spongy dirt is much kinder on the knees. Come on in, everyone!

Then we came home and started putting together our 9-foot Christmas tree. We have tall ceilings that come with living on the 4th floor, so we figured why not take advantage of them? For those of you who think it indecent to deck a tree before the carving of the sacrificial turkey (or lentil loaf, in our case), we don't have nearly enough lights to have it decorated too much before Thanksgiving. And it gets dark so darn early here since we're so far east in the time zone, so it's soothing to have the lights on when we get home from work.

Good job Rob!

It's almost time!

The Michigoose Blog has been on hiatus while we moved to our new apartment and got ready for the wedding. Now it's almost here! We have our license and family is going to start converging today. Then we are heading north to Mackinac Island for a few days of relaxation before driving back to Virginia.

We are enjoying the cooler weather and the people who are Midwestern-nice wherever we go! Forgot about the hungry Michigan mosquitos though.

Better pics of the best apartment!

This is the view from our fourth floor balcony. The lighted dome is the food court at the mall next door. This is a newer area. It feels like we're closer to being in the country, but we can walk to the mall.

But on to the important part...

The view from the loft looking down at the living/dining area, and the floor view of the living room and spare room:

The patio and the windows in the kitchen and master bedroom overlook the pool, about which I have mixed feelings. It's okay when no one is in it but since it's been very hot for our first two days here, it's been packed with screaming kids. And yes, the noise does carry up to the fourth floor. But it does look nice at night and in the morning.

First look at new apartment!

We are moving today to our new apartment in Sterling. This is the living room window! More to come. We're sooo excited!

Zellie, stop letting in the heat!

I have four full days left in this apartment. My dining room table has been sold on Craigslist, and other furniture needs to find a new home before the move. While I'll miss being able to safely walk to the shopping center next door -- a real rarity in modern car-centered suburbia -- I will not miss the rickety wooden stairs or my noisy upstairs neighbors.

Rob and I are moving into an apartment next weekend that will be new for both of us. It will also be a new neighborhood. And we've both been living alone for a long time -- me for almost ten years and him for at least that long. Let the change begin!

... and, the DC weather has turned on its sauna just in time for packing. Today's high in northern Virginia was in the lower 90s! As always, Giselle does her best to thwart my attempts to keep my apartment below 80 degrees.

Wow, do I feel silly . . .

A couple of months ago I switched to a new blog template. At home I use either Chrome or Firefox for an Internet browser, so I had no idea that my pictures were not showing up for readers who use Internet Explorer.

So I've switched again! I hope this one works for everyone. And I can't think of anything else to make amends and lure you back, than a picture of this neat-o mutant flower. And by "mutant", I mean very special.

A BIG surprise for us both...

After a long week of traveling, planning, and celebrating, Rob and I were looking forward to a quiet late lunch on Sunday. My parents had made the 200-mile-drive from Gaylord to see us while we were in Detroit, and Rob was going to meet them for the first time. We were turning the corner to my Aunt & Uncle's house when I said to Rob, "It's really nice that you get to meet just my parents and my Aunt and Uncle now, instead of all of my sisters at the same time!"

Boy were we surprised...

My Aunt had planned a surprise engagement party for us. The first surprise was when we were standing in the kitchen chatting over a suspiciously large quantity (in hindsight) of food. My nephew ran into the kitchen and then three of my four sisters appeared out of the living room. Instead of lunch for 6, it was a party of 13. The next surprise was when we went to the basement to eat and there was a cake and a present! It was a great afternoon. Rob also has a large family, so he took it all in stride.

They got us a wine fridge for our new apartment, which raised a bit of a logistics problem. On the trip to Michigan, we thought we did pretty well to cram into the Beetle all of our clothes for a week, including a couple of sets of dress clothes for the wedding. On the way back, we learned that we still had room for a wine fridge, a case of wine, and a couple of potted plants -- even a very elegant orchid that rode right behind the center console and survived the trip unscathed.

We didn't drive home with the top down, but it sure helps with loading and unloading!

Congratulations Seema!

My friend Seema got married this weekend, and I was lucky enough to be there. In the first picture, the priest is explaining to everyone the meaning of their first seven steps together as husband and wife. In the second picture, Seema and Saurabh are happily greeting their friends and family after the ceremony.

I've known Seema for about 4 years now, and two years ago neither one of us would have thought that we would be getting married three months apart from each other! She's been a constant source of encouragement and support for me. She's finally found the person to spend the rest of her life with, and I couldn't be happier for her.

And after three days of partying, she's really earned that honeymoon. :-)

Baby Honkers!

It's gosling time in southern Michigan! Yes, the Internet does need more pictures of baby geese. That is all.

Would you like a pop with that?

This morning I introduced Rob to that most Detroit-ish of eateries, the coney island. Coney islands do serve chili dogs, but to Detroiters they are also places where just about everyone can find something on the menu -- and it's not too expensive.

We were there for breakfast (which you can get anytime) when I looked up and saw this sign. I have managed to teach myself to say "soda" now that I live in Virginia but I'm glad this little microcosm of language remains unchanged.

Rose Hill Inn

Today we finally visited the 150-year-old inn where we are getting married. Formerly the summer home of the founder of the Boy Scouts, it is now a 6-room B&B filled with antiques and owned by a former music teacher and his wife. Marshall is an adorable little town just outside Battle Creek.



Yesterday we drove here from Virginia. What a long day! But Rob manages to look rugged in the girliest of cars. He even willingly drove it for a few hours, despite its dearth of horsepower compared to his R32.

The cat's pajamas

Pumpkin had a big day at the vet this week. He badly needed his teeth cleaned, and he had a cyst on his side that was probably harmless but getting bigger. So while he was zonked out after his dental work, the vet removed the cyst and left five stitches behind.

When I picked him up that evening, they told me that he had managed to chew or scratch out his first set of stitches and had to be resutured. He would need to wear a cone or a shirt, preferably both. When we got home the cone seemed to be making him panic, so I quickly made a shirt for him out of an old green t-shirt of mine. As soon as he was feeling better, he just as quickly squirmed out of it.

Shirt number two turned out a lot better! I made the neck narrower so it would be harder for him to get his arms through the neck. And it looks much better on him. I also reinforced the armholes since his escape strategy is to lick and bite the armholes until they are stretched enough that he can somehow get his arms out and slither out of the whole thing.

With all of the weight he has lost, the shirt makes him look very svelte!


Poor little guy -- the vet also found that he has bone spurs on his elbows. That means that he has arthritis. It doesn't seem to be slowing him down at all!

Zellie likes Rob.

Rob is a cat person. Giselle, apparently, is a Rob cat. She took to him right away and sometimes chooses his lap over mine. I try not to be jealous when this happens, and eventually Pumpkin will wander by and get on my lap to avoid a fight with Zellie.

One-Track Kitty Brain

Pumpkin is such a persistent little beast. He's quite smart too. After I caught him trying to break into the food bin, I put it in a low cupboard in the kitchen where I keep the canned cat food. Later that day I found him inside the cupboard sitting on top of the food bin. There wasn't enough room inside for him to maneuver, but at least he was close to what he loves more than anything else ... food.

A Storm at Sea

Remember this?



Now it looks like this!


I really wanted to get this quilt top pieced before I move, since I had all of the pieces layed out just the way I wanted them. Now it's pieced and it's time to decide on a border fabric, and what batting to use, and whether to quilt it by hand myself, by machine myself, or pay someone to long-arm quilt it. Decisions, decisions...

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, as long as I don't look at it too closely and see my mistakes. But I've always loved this "Storm at Sea" pattern. Every time I look at it, I see something different.

Spring Beetle Bling

Happy Spring everyone...


I know I haven't posted in a while. Wedding planning is taking up my blogging time! Not that I'm spending that much time on wedding planning, but I never spent that much time blogging either. More pictures to come soon!

A dainty engagement ring

 

Never has my left hand undergone as much scrutiny as it has since Rob and I got engaged on Valentine's Day. Sometimes I volunteer the hand when I tell people that we got engaged, but more often people tell me that they hear I got engaged and then they start furtively stealing glances at my left hand if I don't offer it. It's a curious habit, and I know that most people don't mean anything by it.

He gave me a promise ring because he didn't want to pick out the ring without my help. We finally found a ring that was the right balance of sparkly and dainty. I didn't want one that was too big and would get caught on everything, but of course I like sparkly things. Once we win the lottery and I only have to use my left hand to ring for "the help", I can spring for the 2-carat lump of fancy coal.

Now everyone who peeks at my left hand will have something more to look at! It is much prettier in person, of course.

Now 25 percent less Pumpkin!

Look at those haunches!

Yesterday I took the beasties to the vet for their annual checkup -- is that septannual in cat years? I was keenly interested in how much weight Pumpkin has lost. He weighed 17 pounds when I adopted him in fall of 2007, but during the process of moving to Virginia he gained some weight. Last January he weighed 19 pounds, 8 ounces. I received a stern scolding from the vet. Giselle's feeding cage was soon created, and I switched both of them to high-quality foods with no grains.

Last fall I had to take him to the vet for his eye, and I was hoping that he had lost significant weight. The scale disagreed: 18 pounds, 3 ounces. I told the vet I had been working on it. "Keep working ..." he said. "Look, he has haunches now!" I said. Looking at me over the tops of his glasses, the vet said "Uh, those are slight indentations. Not haunches." Time to decrease portion size even more.

Yesterday's weigh-in was 15 pounds! Look at those haunches now! He still has another three pounds to lose, but he has so much more energy now. He can run a bit, which I don't think pleases Zellie. He is much, much more playful, and the fur on his back is softer because he can now reach it to groom.

Over the past year he has lost four-and-a-half pounds -- a quarter of his body weight. But he is definitely not happy about the food restriction and has not given up on asking me for food whenever I am in the kitchen. He is a stubborn and persistent little fellow, and now that he can move around better I can't leave any food at all on the counter! Not even bread still in the wrapper.

V-Day Beetle Bling

Happy Valentine's Day!


(My apologies to those who hate Valentine's Day ... just this once, I'm going to be obnoxious about it.)

Snowmageddon

People in the DC area were so afraid of the approaching storm, they called in the National Guard to shovel snow even before it got here!

Kidding -- that's just Rob doing some pre-emptive shoveling.

A generous 2 feet of snow fell at my apartment in about 36 hours of blustery weather, with only a few electrical flickers when I thought I might lose electricity. According to the National Weather Service, the total for Chantilly (where I live) was 28 inches. To me, once it gets over about a foot and a half, there's no point counting anymore unless it's up to my ears! We went outside Saturday afternoon once it quit snowing. We walked to the grocery store (yes, it was open!) and I made a snow angel. 

But the dig out was inevitable, because life goes on. My snow shovel grew legs and ran away after the last storm, so we were using Rob's shovel and a kitty litter bucket to clear out. Rob's shovel broke when we were almost done with his car -- not a good thing, since there aren't any shovels to be bought for miles.

While we were digging out, this Mercedes tried to make a run for it and got hung up on a little pile of snow left by the plow. It took 7 of us (including the driver) to get the car moving again because its drive wheels weren't making contact with anything solid. Where is a tractor and a good stout chain when you need one?

Mouse over (below) to see what was under all of that snow!

 My missing snow shovel had a wooden handle and an orange plastic blade that was worn down on the corners. Let me know if you see it!