Travels, SXSW, an Internship

March has been kind.  
I took a trip to Lower Normandy and Brittany, music has been way above par, I've had more time and better weather for running, and I found a summer internship.
Here it goes

Travels
At the beginning of the month was our first spring break, and I was lucky enough to spend a few days seeing Mont St. Michel, Cancale, Dinard, St. Malo, and Dinan.  The architecture was very different from the rest of France, and the landscapes reminded me of Ireland.  It was cold, but great.  
I also got to stuff my face with crepes.

Inside Mont St. Michel

Along the coast of Brittany

Dinan

Music
NPR Music's The Austin 100                   74095405 lovely cheese pizzas just for me (or you)
Just before the festival last week, NPR decided to spoil its Internet nerds with a mix of 100 songs from artists featured in South by Southwest. Do yourself a favor:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/01/147637518/the-austin-100-a-sxsw-mix

Dormarion by Telekinesis                                                                     439347 Ethiopian coffees                                                             
Dreamy but edgy.  The first song blew me away.  I found myself earbuds stuffed-in, beat-nodding in the middle of the library.  The stares indicated that I gained a few fans with the performance.  And Telekinesis gained at least one in me.
You can stream the whole album on First Listen.  This should be done immediately.

Mala by Devendra Banhart                                                         87 wheels of Tomme de Savoie
This guy is a weirdo, but a very talented weirdo.

The Next Day by David Bowie                              366 Bowies (there are no comparable units)
It's like Bowie never left.


Running
So, I read on Life Hacker that scientists had found the tippity-top, most fastest ever way to mega burn calories.  I am not a scientist, but I've been doing interval work along these lines lately, and I've noticed more of a burn at the end.  (I think my long distance runs have gotten a bit faster too).

Summer
I've managed to dig up a pretty cool internship here in France for the summer.  I'll be working at a 3-star camping facility, not too far from my university.  3-star means all of the amenities, but also wine and cheese tastings, bike trails, canoes, and mini-festivals.  It's also pretty eco-conscious with zero pesticide, solar panels, composting, etc.  And: I'm not going to be shackled to a desk in a sad Paris banlieu. WIN!

Learning?
It's nearing the end of the semester, so I'm trying to prepare for finals.  I've decided to try to make my French practice more enjoyable by writing about things I care about, rather than just academic crap.  I plan to translate some of these posts onto my foreign language blog. If you feel like paining yourself along with me, you may do so here: ÉtrangèrErica.


À suivre ...

Back again

I've been a shame of a shame as bloggers go.  I blame wanting to be the best-est of graduate students and pure laziness the rest of the time.  At any rate, my effort seems to have paid off well enough in my GPA, and now I'm hoping to scale back some of the frenzy and take time for something I actually enjoy.  It's hard to know where to pick up again--so I guess I'll move in wide circles.

1. Physical activity:
My Christmas break taught me that skiing is mega hard when you're a 25 year old beginner, but that doesn't preclude its being super fun.  (Ski food also makes it well worth the effort.)
Any sunshine in Région Centre means pack up whatever you're doing and go outside for a run.  Unfortunately, the rest of the time I've had to work on moving around the apartment.  
I realized I was developing noodle arms, so I started a self-initated weenie push-up routine, and now I've moved on to "The One Hundred Pushups Training Program".  The creator spells out how to increase endurance by small increments, and when one week's a bit shaky, I just redo it until I'm feeling ready to move on.  It's slow going, but I went from not being able to do one full pushup, to being able to do several sets at a time.  My arm also ceased "keeping the greeting going" for so long after I'd stopped waving.  
I also just started this "Daily Workouts" App.  I don't think it's a revelation, but it's good to have a timer and a little motivation when you're doing repetitive stuff.

2. Movies
The big stuff: Django actually brought tears to these eyes of mine. The Hobbit was awe inspiring.
Weirdo movies: The Master was a real work, and it was good to see Joaquin back.  The Celebration, a Dutch movie from 1998.  It was made according to "Dogme 95"'s principles.  Very, very moving.  I don't want to say much more because I think it really needs to be watched.
French fluff: Le Corniaud.  It's a 60s classic comedy.  A "sucker" gets conned into driving a Cadillac stuffed with drugs and stolen gems through Southern Europe.  Road trip antics.
Le Vilain.  Real silliness in the French style.  A prodigal son returns to his mother's house, fleeing a long history of crime.  The mother discovers his wrongdoing and seeks to right his evil deeds...
Astérix et Obélix was a really fun film based on the comics. 
Populaire was another light little entertainment well worth the time.  
8 Femmes is another noteworthy one.  As much as I hate musicals, each character has a tiny song that shows a bit of her personality, and it really works.  (Like I said, the songs are so short you're not left nauseated.)

3. Music
Jake Bugg's a young little twerp who knows his stuff.  
Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Foxygen are exciting (JagJaguar).  
Check out Tame Impala too.
NPR's been winning lately with their "First Listen" album streams and 5 Heavy Rotation songs.  New stuff from Jimi Hendrix is actually sitting over there at the moment.
I found a streaming service called Deezer to use outside of the US.  It's still growing so it's not as well crafted with 'Likes' and 'Thumbs downs' and whatever else, but it has a pretty broad catalogue, and it introduced me to French rap, which in itself is intriguing.  

4. Books
I know every literature teacher, and probably every well-educated English speaker, will gasp when I say this, but: Paradise Lost is crap.  Read the summaries and save yourself time and grief.  I'm not linking it.
The Count of Monte Cristo was long, but a fun distraction.  (It was one of the audiobooks that kept me company on public transit this semester.)  The site's also good for teachers because it has texts sorted by reading levels.
Life of Pi was a super good read, now I've just got to get around to watching the movie.
I finished The Hunger Games series.  Overall, it was a decent work.
I found something else on the edge of teen lit, but it's way better than the usual stuff.  (It's simple enough grammatically that I can read it in French, but the action and themes are really cool.)  It's the Tales of the Otori series, a sort of coming of age saga set in feudal Japan.  

5. Now for some photographic highlights from my absence:

Villandry

Chenonceau

Super Sauze

J'habite en France.

So, I am returning after a 3 month hiatus.  
This lapse was caused by a move from Spain back to the homeland, and subsequently starting suckfest*.
This resumption of blogging is thanks to yet another move, this time: France.

I saw a movie or two this summer.  Heard a little music.  Some were new, some were just new to me.
I also dabbled in manufacturing my own kitsch stuff.  So hipster.

Movies of note
The Dark Knight Rises                                                   2308402398402830 rock-your-face-offs.
That's all.

Safety Not Guaranteed                                                                  485944932 obscure kids' treats
I bought in.  It was a fun movie.  Cute and quirky. The soundtrack fits it almost scarily well--read Garden State. And similarly to Garden State, its indie-ness is thickly palatable, nay campy?  I think it's something to watch if you're a little bummed out, or if it's dreary outside. 

Music. I'm just going to make a list here.
BOY - "Little Numbers" EP. You can check out their debut video on YouTube.
Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel... (just don't bother with the title)
The XX's Coexist.  Thanks NPR.
Nerve City.  "Sleepwalker" EP.
The Fresh & Onlys have released some new stuff!
Dark Dark Dark.  I have the EP "Bright Bright Bright".  Although a theme carried to far makes me cringe, it's great stuff.

"Projects"?
Updated my sad, fake boat shoes with a permanent marker and some masking tape to make at least a more fun version of them.

I used an old frame, a piece of a tree branch, some cork board, wire, and fabric to make a little wall decoration with a place to post pictures, notes, etc.

*suckfest may be used to describe my experience serving tables at a well-known national chain which shall remain nameless.

CinnaMonkey Frozen Yogurt, Awesome Autobiographical Reads, and Lots of New Albums

It's nasty hot here in Spain, and this week happens to be Ice Cream Week on TheKitchn...  SO:  Frozen goodies!

"CinnaMonkey" Frozen Yogurt  

Ingredients:
2 small-medium bananas
1 1/2-2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. skim yogurt
1/4 c. skim milk
1 tablespoon of liquid caramel (substitute honey, sugar+vanilla extract, etc.)
A few Dashes of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Chopped up chunks of dark chocolate

Directions:
Because I'm awesome/a beast, and I don't have a blender, I squished everything by hand with a potato masher, directly in a plastic container.  Again, because I'm awesome, I don't have an ice-cream maker, so I put it in the freezer for about 45 minutes, stirred it up again, and left it to freeze for another 30-45 minutes or so.  I just kept repeating the process until I thought it looked pretty good--3 or 4 times. 

I served it with extra cinnamon sprinkled over the top and a caramel drizzle.  For a little crunch, I think some cinnamon flavored kiddy cereal or even some crumbly cookies over the top could be a nice addition.  Yes, you're allowed to do it because it's not ice cream, it's frozen yogurt.
This is my adaptation of a recipe found whilst trolling Pinterest. You can find the original here at OhShineOn's blog.

Books
Although I usually don't read nonfiction works, I've recently read two outstanding autobiographies.  The first was Just Kids by Patti Smith, and the second was Black Boy by Richard Wright.

Just Kids by Patti Smith                                                          80 greasy grilled cheese sandwiches
The book tells the story of her life with Robert Maplethorpe.  Swarms of celebrities--Bob, Jimmy, Janis, Andy W.--and the incredibly chaotic scene of New York City in the 70s provides an interesting backdrop for a very moving story of personal struggles in pursuit of art and self-understanding.  The progression of their very unique relationship and their sometimes intersecting, sometimes parallel searches for fulfillment propel the book chronologically and emotionally.  I believe I have a better understanding of the human beings behind the iconic images.  Both Smith and Maplethorpe are incredibly enigmatic and accessible all at once.  The book (and a recently released single) has left me anxiously awaiting the release of Smith's new album Banga.

Black Boy by Richard Wright                                                     
I won't rate this because it seems insulting to connect food with a book that so often talks about a person's nearly lifelong, poverty-induced hunger.
This is a very strong portrait of a dark time in American history and a bleak period in a very gifted person's life.  Readers can feel Wright's alienation not only from society due to his race, but also his psychological alienation from family and self.  Throughout the book Wright has to grapple with crushed hopes and failed communication, being forced into certain roles and accepted patterns of expression, by those around him. You follow Wright's perceptions of others, watching his insight and introspection deepen as he ages.  The increasingly sophisticated self-reflection is what makes the narrative so engaging for the audience.  A very important, very modern work.

Music
NPR's First Listen has provided me with enough auditory material to fill multiple, longwinded blog posts this week.  However, because I'm feeling a bit lazy, I will give a quick gloss of highlights, as a nibble, and leave it to others to decide more once they listen.

Regina Spektor's What We Saw from the Cheap Seats                         Holy li2uoi4u2o83u4oi1u!
Very, very exciting stuff.  I'll be happy when it's released for purchase.  Listeners can see that she's still making enjoyable music.

Valtari by Sigur Rós                                                                         23153 Viking sized sheep heads
Misty, other worldy.  Sigur Rós.  It was worth waiting for.

Heaven by The Walkmen                                                                                     65 cups of ambrosia
Although I don't really understand it, something makes me giggle and think of The Smiths, Deathcab, and Buddy Holly.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Here                                                        26783 Zero bars
Country folk funk.  Fun rhythms, lo-fi sounds.  Tambourines.  done.

Go out and read a book, stuff your face with something cold, and listen to some cool new stuff.

Holy-super-cram-jam-packed-extravaganza-ness

It's been almost a month since I made my last post. It's been a very eventful start to my spring however, so I believe the delay is justified.

Stuff of interest to others:
Food
I made a bunny cake. Cute. Moist. Inhaled.
The version I made with Gramma (intentionally misspelled to demonstrate pronunciation) was a bit different because I used one cake round for the body and another for the head and tail, but you can find the general idea here: Betty Crocker Easter Bunny Cake.

Why yes, those are marshmallow teeth.

I made black bean brownies. My picky relatives gobbled and nommed without even knowing they weren't the ridiculously indulgent treats they seemed to be.  I found the recipe here at Pennies on a Platter , but I cut the sugar and oil by about half, upped the cocoa powder a bit, and used sugar free chocolate chips.  The batch yielded 25 brownie bites made in a cupcake maker. I did some calorie math after my changes and they came out to just over 100 calories per brownie bite. They were the best when they were warm and served with fresh fruit.


Music
Carla Morrison's song "Me Encanta"                                       32384 overpriced gourmet coffees
The song was available for free on iTunes, so I downloaded it and now I want MORE. Absolutely great. Actually, the first word that came to my mind while I was listening was, "gorgeous". Though she sings in Spanish, her lyrics are simple and sweet, and her voice contains all the meaning a listener really needs. Great folk sounds accompany her with a clean style that enhances her work. I'm definitely getting the album Déjenme Llorar soon.

Alabama Shakes' debut album Boys & Girls                            983983 peanut butter sandwiches
This album rocks so hard it hurts. I was a little worried that all of the hype couldn't be fulfilled, but I was pleasantly surprised. After listening to the album, all I can do is drool over the thought that one day, maybe, the world would be lucky enough to have them and The Black Keys at the same concert.
If ever this happens, I will need a change of pants.


Movies
The Hunger Games
I've already seen it twice and am anticipating many more times. The subtle black humor and man's barbarism in this creepy modern society is fascinating. The acting is also quite good. I love that the main character is a strong, smart teen girl. And my favorite part: you never know who anyone really is--actions, motives, inner feelings are all left to the viewer/reader to infer for themselves.

The Lorax
What a great surprise! I mostly saw the movie out of my loyalty to the Great Dr. Seuss, though I was afraid that it might destroy a bit of my childhood if it went badly enough. But as I said, a treat was in store, and I left the theater pleased. My sister who saw it with me left a bit teary-eyed. It preserved the message of the book without being too "preachy", and kept my attention although most kids movies are boring for me. Well done, Danny DeVito.


Books
I haven't listed everything I've read or audiobooked within the last month because it would be creepily/pathetically long, so I just posted the top three coolest.

Memoirs of a Geisha
Yes, I am years behind the times. But I've been slowly expanding my circle of reading to encompass more modern works in addition to the classics, so lay off.
I can see why this was such a popular book for so long. It's a powerful story that uses a mix of humor and emotional drama to lead the reader to see the world in a very different way. Such a vastly different time and society viewed through the eyes of the main character was a great break from my day-to-day. It's a pretty quick read which is well worth the time.

The Joy Luck Club
Again, if you're one of the cool people who read it a long time ago, lay off.
This is a wonderful series of vignettes pulled together by a few common threads: ancestry, immigration, hope, disappointment, and the relationships between mothers and daughters. The stories are told in alternating chunks, by the characters who lived them. I would actually consider this a good present for an aunt, mother, grandmother, sister, etc; and an interesting resource to pull from for a short story unit for junior high/high schoolers.

Dracula
I was honestly shocked.  Although there was a certain amount cheesiness due to the era in which it was written, it had a very modern sentiment about it. I was completely engaged. It was very cleverly crafted and interestingly unfolded for the reader through a series of journal entries and dialogues. There's a reason it has been the basis for countless other works after it: it's just a good story.


Personal neatos:
I spent two days in Sevilla, shopped a bit in Badajoz, and went to Paris for 3 days towards the end of the month.
I completed an interview (in French!) as part of an application for graduate school.
I flew home and FINISHED A HALF-MARATHON! *I've updated my "10 Things I would like to do" post to reflect this.* I think I'm going to keep this going. Maybe even something a bit longer is to come...?
I've seen lots and lots of robins' nests, full of eggs.
I stuffed my face with all kinds of goodies not available here in España.
I chugged limitless quantities of any coffee I could find.
I came back to my pueblo and celebrated Easter with my primary students with several belated Easter Egg Hunts.
I was accepted to study at the Université d'Orléans for 2012-2013!
I've put out 2834928734927 job applications in hopes of not being completely impoverished for the next school year.

Happy spring!

Homemade Tortillas and a "Baboon Moon"

Lately I've been making loads of homemade tortillas.  I can control the ingredients--no preservatives, low sodium, and a reduced amount of oil (no lard here!)--and they're super fresh.  You can just make a big dough ball and leave it covered in plastic in the fridge, pulling pieces off as you go through a couple of days--the flour actually incorporates better over time.

I adapted my recipe I found at Cooks.com.  

When I make them just for myself, I use:

1 cup of flour (you can substitute whatever crazy hippy thing you please)

1 pinch of salt

1-1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil*

1/3 cup of water

*Note: your tortillas take the taste of your fat source, so some people prefer tasteless oils, though you can really use what you like.

I mix everything by hand in a big bowl and go for it.  It should mass together without being too dry or too sticky. I don't have a tortilla press, or even a rolling pin.  I cover my cutting board with plastic wrap, sprinkle on some flour, put on a little dough ball, and roll it really thin using the side of a smooth, tall drinking glass I've covered in flour.  Then, I put it in a dry pan over medium heat to cook it up. NOMz.

Best fresh, but still good later after 10-20 seconds in the microwave.

For my dinner tonight, I used two to make "Sloppy Josés".  It's basically a reworked version of Vegan Dad's Red Lentil Sloppy Joes.  

I used: Caramelized onions, Soyrizo or real chorizo, tomatoes chunks and a little juice, lentils, BBQ sauce, mustard, vinegar, cumin, salt, pepper, hot sauce, cheese, and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

Maybe I'll put some pictures up later.  But a baboon is waiting for me.

Healthier-style dessert quesadilla in the making...

Final product.  The Surfing Baboon.

 Silly name for a fun dessert: The Surfing Baboon. (1 serving)
1 tortilla
1 small pat of butter
1/2 a plantain or small banana, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp chopped pineapple
1/2 tbsp honey*
1 tbsp shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
pinch cinnamon
*Feel free to add more or swap with brown sugar/agave, etc.
Topping: natural skim yogurt, another drizzle of honey, and some more sprinkled coconut and cinnamon

Heat a pan.  Spread a very thin layer of butter on the tortilla, and put the butter-side down on a plate.  (I butter first, then fill because I don't want honey everywhere.)  Fill 1/2 of the tortilla with the plantain slices and pineapple pieces.  Drizzle honey and sprinkle cinnamon and coconut over the top.  Fold it, and hustle that goodness into the pan.  Flip it after about 2-3 minutes (when it's golden and almost irresistible).  Finish off the second side, and top it as you please.  Try to keep from screaming with delight as you inhale it.

So, to sort of explain the half-jokey name of my quesadilla: 

Nils Petter Molvær's Baboon Moon                                                     2398040293 root-beer floats
What a very interesting album.  I think it is one of those works that you can listen to many times and take something very different from each experience.  It is difficult to classify.  I guess I'll explain it as a dark, self-styled experimental jazz.  Trumpets, bass-lines, electric guitar, willful drumbeats.  It's very contemplative, but not in a brooding way.  We need more musicians to make self-reflective music of this style.  If nothing else, the novelty of the album should be its biggest selling point.

Madrid and Andrew Bird

I spent a wonderful weekend in a city blooming with spring.

In the middle of one of the busiest capitol cities in the West is a beautiful park bustling with people enjoying the space and sun.  Rollerblading is still alive and well in Spain...  

Behold: (thanks to my photographer) El Parque del Retiro.  

Yes, that's a duck.

I also had one of the best meals I've ever had in Europe at Restaurante Alboroque.  The dishes were cooked to perfection, using simple, high quality ingredients. The staff was very professional and accommodating.  The prices were also quite reasonable for the quality.  3 courses and a bottle of wine for two at 100 Euros.  

Finding this little gem wasn't easy, though.  It is off of one of the busiest streets in Madrid, Calle Atocha, tucked away in a building that is far too easy to pass by without noticing.  Although it's possible to make reservations, they're not required, and I walked in wearing regular clothes from my day as a tourist.  

Though it would've been awkward in such a nice place, I wish I'd taken pictures of the meal. The website only has pictures of the restaurant’s interior, but the food really deserves its due.

My meal: duck liver over a polenta cream with a red berry reduction (Higado de pato sobre crema de maiz y frutos rojos con mandarina); a risotto with hare, artichokes, and mushrooms, (arroz meloso con liebre, alcachofa y setas); and a molten chocolate cake with an orange scented shell (pastel caliente de chocolate con cascara de naranja); paired with a very good Spanish red wine, Dominio de Tares Cepas Viejas 2007. My companion had an exquisite warm vegetable salad followed by seared Iberian pork over a spinach and mango salad, followed by a trio of homemade ice-creams. 

If you've not checked out the new album from Andrew Bird, do yourself the favor and give it a listen!  What an inventive way of making a truly unique contribution to music.  Though the audio isn't directly available through this link to NPR any longer, there is a nice review.
UPDATE!  Andrew Bird performed on NPR's World Cafe.   Click.  it.

Music from Nick Lowe and Honey Hobo Cheesecake

Two fantastic new discoveries made within the last 24 hours that I couldn't wait to blog about!  
1. Thanks to my semi-professional music discoverer, I have been introduced to Nick Lowe.
2. Through my endless roaming of food blogs, I found a fantastic recipe which I've adapted into my own "Honey Hobo Cheesecake" or "Single Lady Honey-Yogurt Cheesecake" pick the name you prefer.


Nick Lowe's The Old Magic                                                                        2343243543 Creme Eggs
iQue guay!  It's a bit difficult to classify because Lowe seems to have had a very wide array of influences, but you can definitely hear pieces of his former father-in-law Johnny Cash.  Personal, a bit rusty/retro.  Lots of fun guitar, piano, and trumpets to a great tempo.  Maybe one could call it British Rockabilly?  Whatever it's name, it is well worth a listen.  Pronto.
G'head: http://nicklowe.com/

Honey Hobo Cheesecake, or Single Lady Honey-Yogurt Cheesecake (4-6 servings)
I've mentioned in previous posts that I have no oven but a crazy love of sweets.  However, I've never directly said that I have no cake pan, and that I live alone; so what treats I do make are in small air-tight containers.  Life is sometimes sad.
But hobo cheesecake is not.

I got a little too impatient to wait for it to set all the way...

Crust:

1 Tbsp. raw sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 c. crushed fiber cereal flakes

1/4 c. crushed quick oats

1/4 c. crushed digestive biscuits

(Because I wanted a kind of earthier flavor and heartier crunch, I mixed my crust ingredients.  I squashed the cereal, then the oats, and finally the biscuits a few at a time until I got the amount of crumbs I wanted in my measuring cup.  You could easily substitute a bunch of graham crackers or cinnamon-flavored cereal and use the same plastic-bag crush method.)

Filling:

8 oz. light cream cheese, extra water drained, softened

1/4 c. raw sugar

Dash of caramel liquid or vanilla extract (vanilla is super hard to find in rural Spain!)

Dash of ground cinnamon

3/4 c. natural skim yogurt, extra water drained

3 Tbsp. honey

Directions: 

Open up a corner of the yogurt cups and flip them upside down to let them drain, and place them off to the side.  Getting rid of the liquid really helps it set up later. 

Mix the crushed oats, biscuits, and cereal with the sugar.  Mix in the melted butter.  Transfer the mixture to the final container, and press firmly along the bottom, and if desired, up the sides. Put it off in the fridge.

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, caramel liquid, and cinnamon together until well incorporated.  Measure the yogurt, and add the honey to the measuring cup on top.  (This makes clean up a lot easier!)  Mix into the rest of the cream cheese mixture.  Give it a taste and see if a little more cinnamon or caramel is needed. When you're satisfied, get the crust, pour the mixture over the top, and put it all in the fridge for a several hours to firm up--or the freezer to speed up the process.  
I sprinkled some cinnamon and drizzled a little caramel over the top for serving.
*Make this in the morning the day of, or on the night before you hope to enjoy it!*

Unpretentious, single dish, hobo-style.

Sort of the ugly duckling of the cheesecake world.

Soko, Springtime, and "The Seven Who Were Hanged"

Soko just released her first official album and it is great!  Spring has come to my region of Spain and I was able to get a few pictures to share.  And finally, I have a little book review.

Music
I Thought I Was An Alien by Soko                                           3 Gallons of Chick-fil-A lemonade
This is a very good album.  I was pleased she developed the potential that I saw in her earlier work from her EP Not Sokute, which I mentioned in an old post.  This album is much darker and more personal though.  There is a lot of heartbreak in her lyrics, but I think the most interesting aspect is that hearing about her feelings and situations doesn't actually make the listener sad.  If anything, it gave me a better understanding of the artist herself, and put me in a very reflective mood.  Nostalgia is sometimes necessary.
You can get all the typical information such as lyrics, tour dates, and video clips at her website: http://www.s-o-k-o.com/

Pictures
Hooray for happier weather for sunnier times!
The days are getting longer, trees are blooming, and the damp draft that was ever-present is lifting.  This inspired my tourist's walk through the pueblo.

I count myself lucky to be here to see these incredibly blue skies on my warm wanderings.

Reading
The Seven Who Were Hanged by Leonid Nikolayevich Andreyev.        100 oatmeal cream pies
A fascinating series of psychological portraits. 
Background: A group of revolutionaries in monarchial Russia plan an attack on a prominent bureaucrat.  The attempt is foiled, and the plotters are sentenced to death.  Two other criminals are also to die at the same time for unrelated charges.  
As the story unfolds, the reader is taken from cell to cell, brain to brain, to watch how the different personalities of the characters contend with the knowledge that they are to die soon.  One envisions martyrdom, one is terrified into stupor, one considers what it will be like to become nothingness.
I keep reflecting upon what a great movie it could make if a director were to ever take on the project.  It's incredibly Russian in its dark sentiments and motifs, and it maintains that same characteristically Russian novel appeal.  The reader becomes subsumed into details and very moving images and concepts, while the writer pours what he knows of himself and his society into the piece.  And as an added bonus, it's not the length of the typical Russian story.  I was through the bite-sized work in less than an afternoon.  You can read or download it here at Project Gutenberg.