Sailing with Rick and Ken

Three layers of clouds
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I helped Rick and Ken move the boat further back in the slip this past Saturday while the weather was nice. It rained like hell all day Friday, but was beautiful for several hours on Saturday before getting ugly again. We used that window to go out into the ocean for a quick sail. The rainstorm was blowing in from the north, but clouds seemed confused about what kind they were and the wind didn't know if it wanted to blow or not. By the time we got back the temperature had dropped and the storm was clearly on its way.

Legoland

Picking on Einstein
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Volvo Parking Only
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I went to Legoland this past Saturday with Holly, Katie, and Ken. We had a blast riding the rides, eating lots of bad food, and basically acting like dorks. We asked Katie to drive her Volvo so we could take advantage of the front row parking reserved for anyone in a Volvo. If you ever built Lego models as a kid then this place is heaven. There are thousands of excruciatingly detailed replicas of Vegas, DC, New York, and even Albert Einstein's nose!

Giant Joystick

Giant Joystick
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Life-sized Asteroids
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

An exhibit by Mary Flanagan called [giantJoystick] just opened in the art gallery in the Calit2 building at UCSD. She has it hooked up to a game console with a bunch of old 8-bit Atari games that project onto the wall of the gallery. The joystick is so big that it takes two people to play: One to move the stick and one to hit the fire button. I played on my lunch break last week for almost an hour and still couldn't get enough of it. Unfortunately the students have discovered it too, so now there is contention for the big stick.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

I watched Cat On A Hot Tin Roof this weekend and fell totally in love with Liz Taylor. I wholeheartedly agree with Burl Ives when he says, "There is life in that woman!" However, my love affair with the woman in the movie just wasn't meant to be. Here is the proof:

Bisteeya: Moroccan Pastry

MoroccanPastry
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can condensed chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 whole chicken breasts, chunked (or tofu)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5 eggs, lightly beaten
16 filo pastry sheets
1/2 cup melted butter

Combine sugar and ground cinnamon. Set this aside.

In large heavy pan, combine chicken broth, water, cinnamon stick, ginger, turmeric, onion, parsley and garlic; add chicken. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 10 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from broth. Reduce broth to 1 1/2 cups; add lemon juice. Remove cinnamon stick. Gradually pour eggs into broth, stirring gently until eggs are set; chill.

In buttered 12" round baking pan arrange 4 filo sheets and brush each with butter. Top with 4 more filo sheets allowing 1/2 of each sheet to extend beyond the edge of the pan in a star. Brush each sheet with butter. Arrange chicken over filo sheets and spoon broth/egg mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Cover with 4 more filo sheets and brush each with butter. Fold extended sheets over top and brush again with butter. Arrange remaining 4 sheets over top and brush each with butter. Tuck in ends; brush with butter.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and turn upside down on a large buttered baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes more or until done. Turn upside down on a serving platter then dust with additional sugar and cinnamon.

Going outside is not worth the humiliation

Going outside is not worth the humiliation
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

It has been raining like crazy again and I've started using the doggie rain jackets on Rufus and Apple. Rufus looks miserable here, but he really perks up once he gets outside. He hates the rain more than the confining raincoat. Apple on the other hand tries to scrape it off with every tree and bush she passes. It has gotten to the point where I actually put the elastic band under her tail to hold the jacket in place. Most ignomious!

Phil's Rack

Phil's Rack
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Phil's BBQ is one of only a handful of decent BBQ places in San Diego. For years he ran a small place in Hillcrest that was always packed. Recently he opened up a new larger location and it is just as crowded as the old one. The meat is smoked well and the sauce is pretty good, but it still doesn't hold a candle to what you can get back in Tennessee. There must be something fundamentally at odds between good BBQ and health code enforcement. There was another good place up in Encinitas that was run by a guy from Alabama but it was shut down recently for.... are you ready? Health code violations.

Apple and Rufus

Apple and Rufus
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

This picture of Apple and Rufus was taken right before they were let out on the boardwalk at Mission Beach. They terrorized the seagulls, joggers, and homeless people for several hours before they were forced to go home again. This is my favorite picture of these two!

Roger the Shrubber plays hockey?

CallMeRoger
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Roger the Shrubber lives in San Diego and apparently plays hockey with the Knights Who Say Ni.

RuralSexual

RuralSexual
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I was proud to be metro until I saw this!