Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Going Too Far?

In "Killing Eve", Jodie Comer plays a hit-woman with great fashion style. She recently wore an outfit that stunned me. It's beautiful and chic but I don't know what it's called. The garment has pants but also an attached top. It's not a pantsuit so what is it? A jumpsuit?

I've been looking since then for something similar. I just saw this piece in Mystique and stretched my budget a little to bring it home.

My aim is to look glamorous but I'm beginning to realize there's a thin line between glamorous and garish. I'm straddling that line. Which side do you believe I fall on?















Sunday, October 13, 2019

My Future Headquarters

I'm planning to shift gears in the near future. Instead of continuing to toil at a job I dislike (but am good at and make money from) I want to do other things -- activities I enjoy. Artistic projects, motorcycle trips and all kinds of fun.

To facilitate this, I plan to close my professional office and buy a place I can use as my headquarters. I've developed a list of qualities I'm looking for in such a place. At first I considered a commercial/industrial building but their price includes a premium simply for business zoning rights. Since I won't be overtly engaging in business activity, I can avoid that price-bump by buying a residential property and use it for my particular purpose and not as a home. (I plan to continue living at my current residence.)

As a Boy Scout (be prepared!), I've already starting looking even though I'm a year or two away from making this transition. I've travelled all over Long Island in search of the right spot.

I just spotted one place that's wonderful. It costs a little bit more than I want to spend but I could afford it. If it's still on the market next year, I might snap it up.

What do you think of this space? It's on the water.















Saturday, October 12, 2019

Amateur Hockey


My friend George teaches motorcycle-riding; he also plays hockey in an adult league. I went to one of George's hockey games recently to get an old stick for my Halloween costume. While there, I enjoyed watching George and his teammates play an exciting hockey game.

Afterward I realized it'd be fun to go to one of their games with a camera. It's difficult to capture images in sports as fast as hockey; most of your pictures are of empty space where something happened a split-second earlier but moved on while you're composing the shot.

Here are a few that turned out okay. (That's George in the fourth photograph.)






















Monday, October 7, 2019

The Other Half

This Halloween we're gonna be hockey-player PK Subban and skier Lindsey Vonn. I showed you Lindsey's costume a few days ago; here's PK's costume.

After taking these pictures, Robin informed me she wants to wear the PK costume. I'm not surprised; she frequently prefers the male part of couple-costumes. Good news -- I found a blonde wig to wear with the Lindsey costume.

I'll show you pics of our ultimate look on the big night. What are you wearing this year?






Sunday, October 6, 2019

Things I Saw Today


One of my motorcycle buddies, Rachael, has a knack for finding weird stuff on the road. She's the muse who led me to The Flying Pig.

Rachael just said on her blog there's a yarn-bombed tree on Long Island. The tree, covered with brightly-colored crocheted yarn, is at a local museum in Stony Brook. (I visited that museum last year and saw a fascinating exhibition about 18th century slavery in New York State.) By coincidence, the yarn artist has the same last name as me.

I rode out and visited the site today. Here are some pics...









Saturday, October 5, 2019

I Am My Own Chef

I have important advice. Some of you already know it; some don't. It deserves sayin'.

I've cooked since the time I realized that, without my mother around, food wasn't magically appearing on my plate. But cooking has always been basic for me, designed for mere subsistence.

In the past few years, however, I've gotten deeper into it as a creative pursuit. Trying new ingredients, inventing new dishes. I find the activity satisfying, not least of which 'cause you get to eat nice stuff at the end.

The normal tendency when you're cooking for only yourself or a partner is to do the least amount of work and skip effort at presentation. But I've learned that putting in a little more effort and, especially, presenting your food attractively can transform meals from ordinary to special. And that generates real pleasure.

I imagine I'm making food for other people when I'm cooking for only myself. I create dishes from scratch and adorn them nicely. Then, as I sit down to the meal, I think "Wow! What a beautiful plate of food!" I find it hard to believe that I made it. I consume the food feeling like a patron of a high-class restaurant.

In addition to heightening enjoyment, studies show that meals cooked at home are dramatically healthier than food consumed out. And that's not even considering the disaster of fast-food.

Two things that can stimulate us to want to cook at home more are good ingredients and spices. I go to local farms and green-grocers for superior vegetables. Trying new seasonings will enliven routine dishes. Sure it's a little extra effort but you're rewarded with nicer meals, better health and smiles of culinary satisfaction.

Yesterday I visited a local farm and saw something I'd never encountered before -- "Mediterranean zucchini." It's bigger than normal green zucchini and purple; it looks like an eggplant. I fried it with bread-crumbs, plated it on top of a thin egg-frittata and accompanied it with a side of wild rice full of garlic and spices. Yumm!

How much effort do you put into your cooking?