All posts by Andrew

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Prairie Home

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Sarah and I went on a great date to the Fitzgerald Theatre to see A Prairie Home Companion. We went partly to see Nellie McKay, who was amazing, but I’ve also always wanted to see Garrison Keillor in action. I have mixed feelings about the show in general, often rolling my eyes and changing stations when it comes on. But I have also, at times, appreciated both the full show and Keillor’s storytelling in particular.

It was a treat to see the show in action. It’s the first genuinely live radio show I’ve seen, and it was a impressive to see so many acts flow together seamlessly. Nellie McKay was certainly the highlight for both of us, but I also enjoyed watching Keillor do the Lake Woebegone segment, strolling around the dark stage weaving the tale with no notes.

Prairie Home Companion live at the Fitzgerald Theatre
Prairie Home Companion live at the Fitzgerald Theatre
Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Little Falls Park

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We had plans today to head downtown to see museums and monuments on the national mall, but it was a poor sleep night and a bunch of us were fighting colds, so we decided to stay closer to home. We walked down to Brookeway Drive, the street Dave and I lived on as kids in the ’70s. At the end of the cul-de-sac is a path up to the old railway tracks, now repaved as part of the Capital Crescent Trail. (I remember trains going by, and often put coins on the tracks for flattening.) The kids had a blast in and around the creek for a couple of hours, though I didn’t get the camera out for the epic meltdowns they had after one too many daring maneuvers led to cold, wet feet (and a butt, in Griffin’s case).

 

Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Christmas 2014

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We spent Christmas in Bethesda with Grummy and Grandpa Stape, and all the Roy cousins. Fourteen people under one roof! Wonderful mayhem.

Decorating the tree
Happy Julia
Christmas Eve reading of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (aka “Twas the Night Before Christmas”)
The stockings were laid on the sofa with care…
Airplane!
Mine!
Stocking treasures
Caleb unwrapping
Queen Elsa with her wand
Fancy clothes
Wardrobe help from Grummy
All the cousins
All the cousins
The whole gang (except Caleb, who was sleeping)
Griffin, Maggie, Photo

Arctic Bocce

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We didn’t let a little snow and frigid temperatures interfere with our Thanksgiving Bocce game. Grandpa Jeff got out the snow blower and made us a court. The teams:

  1. Griffin, Nik, Alli, Pam
  2. Maggie, Andrew, Sarah, Jeff

We played to 11, and it was close to the very end. In the final round, 10-9, team 2 landed the clinching point. They simply had superior mastery of snow-braking techniques.

The teams arrayed.
Bocce balls in the snow.
Coach Maggie
Grandma “Bocce Wizard”
Snow is fun!
Look at that technique!
Perfect follow-through.
The intensity was palpable.
Great sportsmanship to the end.

On the Roy side, the bocce tradition began at a rental house in Fort Bragg, California, on the Mendocino coast. We used to rent the place for Thanksgiving in the early 2000s, inviting friends and family for feast and fun. Here are two pictures from that era (with a slightly different climate!):

2002 - bocce court with the house and hot tub in the background
2002 – bocce court with the house and hot tub in the background
2004 - bocce court with the Pacific
2004 – bocce court with the glorious Pacific
Griffin

Fishy Relatives

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Griffin, at dinner last night:

“How do people actually get made?
Like how did the first people get made?”

This was not a question about reproduction—we’ve had a few conversations about that—but more of an ontological question about how humanity came into being in the first place.

Sarah gave a masterful overview of evolution and we looked at pictures on Wikipedia of various stages of human evolution. Before losing interest in the details, Griffin got far enough to state, “So, we’re related to fish.”

Evolution of Man
Irrelevant cartoon on the subject.
Recipes

Puffed Apple Pancake

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Sarah investigated some breakfast options this morning that would make progress on our basket of aging apples. One of our favorite breakfasts is Pannukakku, so she chose something similar. It was delicious, the kids loved it, and it filled the house with the delectable scent of baking apples and cinnamon.

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
2 large tart apples, cored and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
5 eggs
Powdered sugar, to serve

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Saute the apples until they start to get soft, then add the sugar and cinnamon and cook until golden.

Whisk the flour with the salt and nutmeg. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly with a large wire whisk to beat out any lumps. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs one at a time. Beat by hand for 2 minutes, or until foamy. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.

Pour the batter over the apples. Bake for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden

Serve dusted with powdered sugar. Serves 4-6.

Recipe source.

A bit of powdered sugar completes it.
A bit of powdered sugar completes it.
A slice of yum!
A slice of yum!

 

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Andrew on Ice

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First lap, in reach of the wall.
First lap, in reach of the wall.

I’ve had a lingering paranoia since moving to Minnesota: what if I can’t skate? I skated as a kid, sure, but that was long ago. Now I’m older and stiffer and more fragile. I’ll probably fall immediately and break my wrist or my head. Today I banished this demon by slowly working my way around my school’s ice rink with the 8th graders zipping past. They were a supportive crowd.

Now I can’t wait to finally buy a pair of skates that fits. (There is only one pair at school, and I had to share them with a large-footed student.) I’m hopeful that Griffin will get comfortable on his skates this winter too, so this will be another winter activity we can enjoy together.

The video is hardly worth watching, but I was so ridiculously proud of myself that I thought I should preserve the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qSFM08Dr8k