5.31.2011

Focaccia take 1

I spent some time over the weekend baking focaccia for the first time and, if the in-laws opinions are any indication, it was fabulous.  Truly, it did turn out well.  It was good enough that that was all we ate for dinner on Sunday and Monday.

I used the recipe from Peter Reinhardt's "Bread Baker's Apprentice" with a spur of the moment recipe for the herb oil.  I know the oil had, slat, pepper, sage, thyme, oregano and garlic in it.  All else was forgotten shortly after being added to the mix.

I was up until about midnight Saturday night doing the folding , kneading, shaping.  While the bread was rising, I was watching "Swamp People".  A show in English that needs subtitles.

Here are a couple of pictures of the end result:




5.30.2011

At the movies - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides : 3

The fourth installment of Captain Jack Sparrow has the Captain seeking the Fountain of Youth.  They, thankfully, don't cover every day of the journey from England to the New World.  However, Blackbeard (with Jack on his boat), the English, and the Spanish, all arrive at the Fountain within minutes of each other.

Along the way, they encounter mermaids that are necessary for a ritual at the Fountain.  Before the trip and at the fountain, there are plenty of acrobatic escapes and swashbuckling scenes.  Overall, though, the story line is a bit of a muddle, not nearly as clear as some of the installments.

Oh, if this one does well, there will be a sequel.  There are obvious hooks at the end that will allow them to continue the franchise.

Weekend update

Friday

Aikido
Pirates of the Caribbean

Saturday

Blueberry muffins
Artfire work
Aikido
Dinner with the in-laws
Started working on a batch of focaccia
Stayed up until midnight watching Swamp People while the bread was rising

Sunday

Blueberry pancakes
Artfire work
More work on the focaccia
Had focaccia and a beer for dinner.  It was fabulous!

Lunching out - Lila's Mexican

I had to take some vacation time on Friday or lose it, so I got home early and was able to wait for K. to join me lunch.  I wanted to go to a Pearland Mexican restaurant that she had expressed misgivings about ever eating at.  She, reluctantly agreed to join me.

We went to Lila's on Hwy 35.  It's outlandish colors and questionable location do not lead to high expectations, but urbanspoon gave it high marks.  And they did not disappoint.  The chips and salsa were pretty good.  I didn't think the salsa was as good as the reviews on urbanspoon led me to anticipate.   I still prefer Durango's salsa by a wide margin.

K. had beef tacos and I had Enchiladas Verdes (some places call them Enchiladas Suiza).  K.'s tacos were not the usual u-shaped shells, but rather totrillas flower cups.  She enjoyed them.

My suizas were pretty good, maybe lacking a little in the tang department.  The rice and beans were fabulous.  Although the last bite of the beans seemed a little off.  Maybe they're best quite hot?

They don't serve beer or margaritas, so the odds of this becoming our favorite Mexican joint are slim, but the food was quite good.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 5/28/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Troy, Brad, and Dan.


Tim, Troy and I got there about 1-1/2 hours ahead of the regular class.  The ARMA folks were not using their time, so we took advantage.

Ukemi:

I worked on my big falls on the left side.  It looks like it wasn't my problem, but some issues with tori

The Walk:

Twice, as usual, during the regular class, with Dan.

Releases:

During the regular class, I worked with Dan.  We spent quite a bit of time on the 5th release, but we did make it through all releases.

Techniques:

During the pre-class, I ran through the first 24 techniques of Koryu Dai San.  This includes the kneeling, standing, and defense against a knife.

#9 - Kote Mawashi - We made a change so that I'm locking uke's wrist to my gi palm out instead of palm in.

#15 - Ushiro Waza Tentai Kote Hineri - I should be doing this with the "street version" takedown instead of the Ju Nana Hon Kata takedown.

#22 - Kote Gaeshi - We're making the entry for this one to be my style of entry as per the HJu Nana Kote Gaeshi.

During the regular class I was watching Brad and Dan work together on Ju Nana Hon Kata.

Aftermath:

I was beat and stiff.

Aikido Friday Night - 5/27/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Sal, and Dan.

Ukemi:

Full set of 12.

The Walk:

Twice, as usual.

Releases:

I worked with Sal

Techniques:

I worked with Sal on the first 5 of Ju Nana Hon Kata.  I'm having trouble recalling all details at this point, so I'll just leave it at that.

Aftermath:

None of note.

Artfire - Item of the week - Tulipwood Bottle Stopper

My item of the week is a Tulipwood bottle stopper.  Use it to add some color to the top of your bottle of wine while keepings the contents fresh:


For the next few days, contact me for a 10% off coupon for the purchase of this bottle stopper.

Artfire - Featured Shop - The Lively Lady

Based out of Greenville, Tx, The Lively Lady grew up learning to sew and began quilting while stationed overseas with her husband, a Navy veteran.

Her shop carries flip-flops, ID tags, pill organizers and lots of items for babies and children.  Take a look at just a few:




5.25.2011

Artfire - Featured Shop -MossQ

MossQ is this week's featured shop form the Men of Artfire guild.  This is another artisan that lives in my neck of the woods, just a few miles to the east.  He's been doing something creative continuously over the past 30 years.  It might be scrimshaw, wood carving, leather work, metal working or even telling tall tales.

A lost of his pieces are on the whimsical side and will bring a smile to your face

Below are just few items from his shop:







Lunching out: King's Biergarten

This week, K. joined me for lunch in Pearland, right next door to the Pie Garden at King's Biergarten.  It's a new joint with mostly German food and beers.  We did not try any beers, as it was lunch on a work day, but we did try the food.  We could not get iced tea, as they don't have a brewer for it yet.

K. ordered the sausage appetizer with Polish, Grilled Bratwurst and Nuernberger bratwurst.  I ordered the King's Specialty Sausage with Polish and Bratwurst.   The sausages were quite good, with the Nuernberger bratwurst being my favorite.  The sides: I did not try the cabbage, the sauerkraut was awfully mild, and the Austrian Potato salad was quite good.

The apple strudel was ok.  There was an interesting overtone to it that I could not place.

This is definitely a spot we expect to try again.


Below are pictures of the meal:









Artfire - Item of the week - Slimline Pen and Pencil set in Purple Maple Burl

The item of the week in my shop is a pen and pencil set in the slimline style.  They are turned out of an amazing set of blanks in Maple Burl that has been dyed purple.

I'm offering a 10% discount off of this pen for this week. Take a look at it:










5.24.2011

Volleyball, 1-2

We, somehow, made it into the playoffs for the Reverse 4's league.  We got a late start because the ref did not know when to be there.  We lost the first game 21-25.  We one the second game 25-23.  We lost the third game 15-12.  It was a good, close match.  I'm disappointed that we did not win, but it was fun and close.  That's good enough.

Weekend update

Friday:

Aikido

Saturday:


Got up too early
Blueberry muffins
Recovered some lost sleep
Off to Woodcraft to get a bottle stopper chuck.  They did not have what I was looking for.
Aikido
Made a poolish for Sunday breadmaking
Dinner at Durango's
Gaming

Sunday:

Artfire work
Started on the bread
Worked on the bread for the next 12 hours or so while watching a Harry Potter marathon
The bread turned out the best yet, at least the ciabatta.  I was trying another recipe and I have yet to cut into that bread.

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 05/21/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Trey, Troy, Brad, and Dan.

Ukemi:

Set of 12 falls.

The Walk:

Twice, as usual.

Releases:

I worked with Brad.

Techniques:

I worked Brad on 10, 9, and 8 of Ju Nana Hon Kata.  I wanted to vary things up by working backwards through them.  As we finished up 8, Dan arrived. 

Brad and Dan did the releases and then they started working on 1-3 of Ju Nana Hon Kata.

Aftermath:

None of note.

Aikido Friday Night - 5/20/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Troy, Dan, and Marvin.

Ukemi:

None.  I was watching over Marvin

The Walk:

Twice, as usual.

Releases:

I worked with Marvin.  We made it through the 5th release before I changed us over to working on techniques

Techniques:

I worked with Marvin on Shomen-ate.  We did a brief warm-up on strike the dummy beforehand.  I think this was the last time we'll do that on a pre-meditated basis.

He did pretty well on the technique, lots of tweaks to come.  But, he was consistently throwing me with the technique.

Aftermath:

None of note.

5.20.2011

Aikido Thursday Night - 05/19/11

Aikido players:  Tim, and Troy.

Techniques:

I ran through the 8 kneeling techniques of and then the 8 standing techniques of Koryu Dai San.  It is quite annoying how I have trouble with Kote Mawashi, the first technique of the standing section.  I can not remember  the footwork.  Or, I remember it, but my feet have a disagreement with my brain and refuse to cooperate. 

I was also having trouble Ushiro Waza Tentai Kote Hineri.  I was not getting a good initial off-balance. 

I'm guessing there will be about 3 more months of piecemeal work on these before I start getting serious work on putting them all together.

After my work as tori, Troy did some work as tori as we ran through 1-14 of Ju Nana Hon Kata both sides.  He did quite well, considering that he worked with me as an uke
 
Aftermath:

None of note.

5.17.2011

Artfire - Item of the week in my shop - Churchill Rollerball in Amboyna Burl

The item of the week in my shop is one of my newest additions to the shop.  I added it in last week.  It's a Churchill style rollerball turned out of Amboyna Burl.  This is the first pen in this style that I've turned, and I may decide to make myself a pen in this style.

I'm offering a 10% discount off of this pen for this week. Take a look at it:











Volleyball, 0-3

I think we were playing the last place team last night (they'd one just one game less than we had all season), and we managed to lose all three games.  I don't remember the score of the first game, but the last two were 21-23 and 13-15, I believe.  We played them close, but could not get  the job done.

I did have a couple of nice serving groups.  I aced the other team by dropping the serve in front of one of the players.  They did not react well enough to the spin I managed to put on the ball.  It was nice to see it work well for the first time in quite a while.

That may have been the last game of the season.  We may have played ourselves out of the playoffs.

We're going to try it again next season.

5.16.2011

Artfire - Featured Shop - Lecabita

Lecabita is the shop name for a husband and wife team based in northern Pennsylvania.  John is the woodworker while Sally is the pyrographic artist.  Together they create amazing works of art out of wood and heat.

They have "real jobs", but you can certainly tell that their shop contains works of passion, love and artistry.

Below are just few items from their shop:








Weekend update

Friday:

Aikido

Saturday:


Blueberry muffins
Voted
Went to Art in the Park to wander around for a bit
Into the shop to do some turning.  Working on a new "magic wand"
Aikido
Dinner on the patio with pizza from Stefano's


Sunday:

Blueberry pancakes
Made a sponge and a poolish for ciabatta.  the sponge worked ok, but the poolish needed more time than the recipe called for.
Artfire work
Grabbed a nap outside on the porch.  Fabulous weather for it.
Spent a couple of hours working on the creek at the back of the property.  It was dead dry and a good opportunity to do some mowing.
Dinner with the in-laws
Watched some TV trying not to hurt too much from the yard work

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 05/14/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Dan, Marvin, and Gayle.

Ukemi:

Set of 12 falls.

The Walk:

Twice, as usual.  We also broke it out into more individual pieces, as well

Releases:

I worked with Dan.  No damage to my toes this time.

Techniques:

I worked Sal on 1, 2, and 5 of  Ju Nana Hon Kata.  He did well on #1 and #2.  Minor corrections.  I didn't want to work on #3 or #4, so I moved onto #5.  This was the first time he had worked on the technique, and he did pretty well.  He's probably got 65% of the technique, and that's pretty good.


Aftermath:

None of note.

Aikido Friday Night - 05/13/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Troy, Sal, and Dan.

Ukemi:

Set of 12 falls.

The Walk:

Twice, as usual.

Releases:

I worked with Sal.

Techniques:

I worked Sal on 6, 7, and 8 of Ju Nana Hon Kata.  Made the usual adjustments on #6 : tori should not "hold" onto uke's wrist.  We then spent some time on the armbar.  Had him get around in front of me more on #7, push out more on the way down and a few minor tweaks on the pin.On #8 we have to get the footwork right on the pivot and get a properly positioned off-balance.

Aftermath:

None of note.

From Twitter 05-15-2011



09:01:40: SkyGirlCards - custom wedding favors, birthday cards, baby shower and wedding shower invitations - http://bit.ly/lJdu48 #handmade #artfire
10:02:26: WalkersSticks - Gorgeous Handmade Wooden Walking and custom canes - http://bit.ly/jsF6gh #handmade #artfire
11:05:21: Designs by Chaz - http://bit.ly/jQkzJK - One of a kind jewelry, handcrafted from my original designs with love and care #handmade #artfire
12:15:12: CandTDesigns - our square wire jump rings are in the Feb/March issue of Step by step wire jewelry - http://bit.ly/kj7hZk #handmade #artfire
13:07:07: 13th Street Designs - http://bit.ly/jXJllD - reclaimed bamboo bracelets #handmade #artfire
17:27:09: Crystal - Artfire Crazy Train - Greeting cards, earrings, and anklets - http://bit.ly/kyz8Co #handmade #artfire


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5.15.2011

From Twitter 05-14-2011



09:01:18: SkyGirlCards - custom wedding favors, birthday cards, baby shower and wedding shower invitations - http://bit.ly/lJdu48 #handmade #artfire
10:02:12: WalkersSticks - Gorgeous Handmade Wooden Walking and custom canes - http://bit.ly/jsF6gh #handmade #artfire
11:05:25: Designs by Chaz - http://bit.ly/jQkzJK - One of a kind jewelry, handcrafted from my original designs with love and care #handmade #artfire
13:07:28: 13th Street Designs - http://bit.ly/jXJllD - reclaimed bamboo bracelets #handmade #artfire


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5.14.2011

Lunching out: Eduardo's Mexican

This week I went out to a new Mexican joint and I kind of felt guilty about it.  The new place is in the same strip center as Durango's and I feel bad not eating there when I'm close by.  This new spot opened up in what was briefly a Pakistani or Middle Eastern restaurant for a short while.  It's a pleasant enough place.

After being seated, they delivered chips and salsa to the table.  The chips were good, the red salsa was decent, and the green salsa was one of the thickest I've encountered.  Almost chunky.  There was no real heat in either one.

I ordered the Eduardo's Special: cheese enchilada, chicken flauta, tostada, beef taco, rice and beans.  Enchilada: meh.  Flauta: damn good.  Taco, meh.  I did not like the flavor of the beef.  Tostada: ok.  Guacamole: ok.  Rice: ok.  Beans: ok.  The service was reasonably attentive, and they were doing decent business for a Friday lunch.

Their house margaritas are $7.  I'm not going to be coming here for my Saturday night Mexican food outings, it would be too expensive compared to Durango's $2 margaritas.

Below is the picture of my meal:



If I NEED flautas, I'll be here.  Otherwise, Durango's is too close.  I'll be going there instead.






Lunching out : Moreno's Bar-b-cue

A week ago I went out to lunch at a recent addition in the NASA area: Moreno-s Bar-b-cu.  It's located in what used to be a Denny's and was a Sambo's originally, many years ago.  By the name of the place, I was expecting a bar-b-cue joint.  When I walked in the door, I discovered that it was mainly a Mexican restaurant.

After being seated, they delivered chips and salsa to the table.  Normal, if you're at a Mexican restaurant.  As I was still in the "barbecue joint" state of mind it was weird.  The chips and salsa were ok: nothing horrible, nothing outstanding.

I ordered a 1 meat plate of their brisket with green and baked beans as my two sides.  The brisket had a nice smoke ring and a nice flavor.  It was pretty lean and tender.  They only gave me 4 slices of beef and, given the plate on which it was delivered it seemed even less than that.  It was enough, with the sides to be a good meal.  I don't remember much about the sauce, but the sides were pretty good.

Below is the picture of my meal:


While I won't choose this over Joe's in Alvin, if I need a brisket fix near NASA, this will be at the top of the list.







From Twitter 05-13-2011



09:00:22: SkyGirlCards - custom wedding favors, birthday cards, baby shower and wedding shower invitations - http://bit.ly/lJdu48 #handmade #artfire
10:02:32: WalkersSticks - Gorgeous Handmade Wooden Walking and custom canes - http://bit.ly/jsF6gh #handmade #artfire
11:06:08: Designs by Chaz - http://bit.ly/jQkzJK - One of a kind jewelry, handcrafted from my original designs with love and care #handmade #artfire
17:26:08: Many Horses Jewelry - Artfire Crazy Train - Findings, Hair sticks, and shawl pins - http://bit.ly/kyd1OI #handmade #artfire
18:32:21: 13th Street Designs - http://bit.ly/jXJllD - reclaimed bamboo bracelets #handmade #artfire


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5.12.2011

From Twitter 05-11-2011



10:29:42: SkyGirlCards - custom wedding favors, birthday cards, baby shower and wedding shower invitations - http://bit.ly/lJdu48 #handmade #artfire
10:45:47: WalkersSticks - Gorgeous Handmade Wooden Walking and custom canes - http://bit.ly/jsF6gh #handmade #artfire
11:14:17: Designs by Chaz - http://bit.ly/jQkzJK - One of a kind jewelry, handcrafted from my original designs with love and care #handmade #artfire
13:08:16: 13th Street Designs - http://bit.ly/jXJllD - reclaimed bamboo bracelets #handmade #artfire
17:24:44: On Pens and Needles - Artfire Crazy Train - Variety of handmade wood and acrylic pens, wood jewelry http://bit.ly/m9iqhE #handmade #artfire


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5.11.2011

Volleyball, 1-2

Ah, what a disappointing match.  The Tuesday night co-ed on which I sub made it to the playoffs.  Last night was the first match of the tournament.  We won the first game quite handily, but then managed to not win either of the next two.  We lost the second game 27-25, I think, and the third game 15-11.

The ref wasn't the most confident, but she was even-handed and that's more important.

We're done for the season.  I think the team is taking next season off, maybe I'll be subbing when they start up again.

From Twitter 05-10-2011



09:23:28: SkyGirlCards - custom wedding favors, birthday cards, baby shower and wedding shower invitations - http://bit.ly/lJdu48 #handmade #artfire
10:32:25: WalkersSticks - Gorgeous Handmade Wooden Walking and custom canes - http://bit.ly/jsF6gh #handmade #artfire
11:06:56: Designs by Chaz - http://bit.ly/jQkzJK - One of a kind jewelry, handcrafted from my original designs with love and care #handmade #artfire
13:10:43: 13th Street Designs - http://bit.ly/jXJllD - reclaimed bamboo bracelets #handmade #artfire


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5.10.2011

Artfire - Featured Shop -Mithril Dreams

I liked the name of this shop (Mithril Dreams) as I was looking for this week's feature, so I stopped on in.  While just reading her bio, I found out she does not live too far away from my.  She's just a couple of zip codes away.

She's currently a stay-at-home mom taking care of twins Robert and Melanie.  She says that making jewelry is a wonderful creative outlet for her. It helps her to feel relaxed and accomplished at the same time.

Her shop carries bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces, as well as knitting accessories.  Below are just few items from her shop:





Volleyball, 0-3

Another night in the Reverse-4's.  Another set of losses.  Still, we played ok.  Our defense was not too bad, our offense was a little off.

From Twitter 05-09-2011



09:27:36: SkyGirlCards - custom wedding favors, birthday cards, baby shower and wedding shower invitations - http://bit.ly/lJdu48 #handmade #artfire
10:55:58: WalkersSticks - Gorgeous Handmade Wooden Walking and custom canes - http://bit.ly/jsF6gh #handmade #artfire
11:51:15: Designs by Chaz - http://bit.ly/jQkzJK - One of a kind jewelry, handcrafted from my original designs with love and care #handmade #artfire
13:13:20: 13th Street Designs - http://bit.ly/jXJllD - reclaimed bamboo bracelets #handmade #artfire
17:12:46: Slimline Pen and Pencil set in Purple Maple Burl - item of the week. Contact me for 10% off - http://bit.ly/93eNu7 #handmade #artfire
17:31:29: The Sunny Side Biz - Artfire Crazy Train - Shoulder bags, pillow covers, and clothing - http://bit.ly/kHXV84 #handmade #artfire


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5.09.2011

Artfire - Item of the week in my shop - Pen and pencil set

The item of the week in my artfire shop is this Slimline pen and pencil set turned out of Purple Maple Burl.  Looking for a unique set of writing instruments that no one else will be able get away with stealing from your desk at the office?  I think I've got what you need.

Contact me for 10% off:




Weekend update

Friday:

Aikido
Prepared a "sponge" for ciabatta bread

Saturday:


Blueberry pancakes with Vermont maple syrup from our trip.  It's amazing how much sweeter pancake syrup is compared to maple syrup.
Made some ciabatta bread and it turned out how I wanted it to for the first time!
Into the shop to do some turning.  Didn't mess up too many blanks.
Aikido
Dinner at Durango's.
Gaming

Sunday:

Artfire work
Did prep work for the afternoon party as requested by K.
Into the shop to assemble some pens.  Mucked up a number of pens.  Argh!
Grilled steaks and salmon
Chilled with in-laws, sister and mom for Mother's Day

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 05/07/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Brad, and Dan.

Ukemi:

Set of 12 falls.  I still need to find some time to re-work my left-side big falls.

The Walk:

Once.


Releases:

Brad and Dan worked with each other.  We spent more time on this than Tim would have liked.
Techniques:

We spent a lot of time working on Gedan-ate with Dan and trying to improve Brad's take on the technique.

We also spent some time on #8, #9, and #10 with Brad.  We were also breaking in Dan as an uke for those techniques.

Aftermath:

None of note.

Aikido Friday Night - 05/06/11

Aikido players:  Tim, Dan, and Marvin.

Ukemi:

Set of 12 falls.I still need to find some time to re-work my left-side big falls.  I also tweaked my left hip while coming up from a right-sided fall.  Man, I'm just falling to pieces, aren't I?

We also spent some time working on Marvin's falls.

The Walk:

Twice, as usual  Tim worked with Marvin for quite a bit

Releases:

I worked with Dan.  I taped up my toes, just to be safe.  We spent a fair amount of time on them.

Techniques:

I worked Dan through 1-3 of Ju Nana Hon Kata.  He did pretty well.  I then uke'd for Marvin on Shomenate.  We actually did a brief stint of strike-the-dummy and moved on to Shomenate.  He did pretty well for not having worked on it much.  He's a little tense, but he's doing well, all things considered.

Aftermath:

None of note.

From Twitter 05-08-2011



09:43:30: VikingJonesJewelry - Chainmaille bracelets and necklaces (dragonscale, persian, half-persian) http://bit.ly/jZZT5X #handmade #artfire
10:35:47: ImpressionsExpress - A variety of images available for light switches, outlets - http://bit.ly/kAuwp1 #artfire #handmade
11:44:21: HeartsCreation - a variety of stones used to create a wide variety of necklaces - http://bit.ly/jDiYqV - #handmade #artfire
18:18:15: Padauk Bottle Stopper - item of the week in my shop. Contact me for 10% off - http://bit.ly/5TYpoV #handmade #artfire


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5.08.2011

From Twitter 05-07-2011



09:45:10: VikingJonesJewelry - Chainmaille bracelets and necklaces (dragonscale, persian, half-persian) http://bit.ly/jZZT5X #handmade #artfire
10:37:53: ImpressionsExpress - A variety of images available for light switches, outlets - http://bit.ly/kAuwp1 #artfire #handmade
11:41:19: HeartsCreation - a variety of stones used to create a wide variety of necklaces - http://bit.ly/jDiYqV - #handmade #artfire
17:20:55: By Camille - Artfire Crazy Train - Gorgeous neck warmers, cowls, wraps, mug cozies, jewelry. http://bit.ly/jKYvvK #handmade #artfire
18:09:17: Padauk Bottle Stopper - item of the week in my shop. Contact me for 10% off - http://bit.ly/5TYpoV #handmade #artfire


Tweets copied by twittinesis.com


5.07.2011

From Twitter 05-06-2011



09:42:19: VikingJonesJewelry - Chainmaille bracelets and necklaces (dragonscale, persian, half-persian) http://bit.ly/jZZT5X #handmade #artfire
10:34:18: ImpressionsExpress - A variety of images available for light switches, outlets - http://bit.ly/kAuwp1 #artfire #handmade
11:37:47: HeartsCreation - a variety of stones used to create a wide variety of necklaces - http://bit.ly/jDiYqV - #handmade #artfire
18:09:48: Padauk Bottle Stopper - item of the week in my shop. Contact me for 10% off - http://bit.ly/5TYpoV #handmade #artfire


Tweets copied by twittinesis.com


5.06.2011

Aikido Thursday Night - 05/05/11

Aikido players:  Tim, and Troy.

Techniques:

I ran through the 6 of the offensive jo techniques.

1. Migigawa-ryote-junte-tori

Uke grabs the jo on his left, tori's right as tori jabs.  Tori extends the jo over uke's right 4th toe, causing him to take a right-sided roll-out

2. Migigawa-ryote-junte-tori (ok, the technique has the same name as the previous one, according to Higoshi's book, what's up with that?)

This is a counter to a resistance to the first version.

Uke grabs the jo on his left, tori's right as tori jabs.  Tori attempts to extend the jo over uke's right 4th toe, but uke resists.  This allows tori to withdraw the jo and re-thrust it to uke's back, causing uke, to rotate around with crossed hands.  Tori then extends the jo over uke's left 4th toe, causing him to take left-sided roll-out

3. Migigawa-ryote-junte-tori

This one is a counter to a resistance to the second version

Uke grabs the jo on his left, tori's right as tori jabs.  Tori attempts to extend the jo over uke's right 4th toe, but uke resists.  This allows tori to withdraw the jo and re-thrust it to uke's back, causing uke, to rotate around with crossed hands.  Tori then extends the jo over uke's left 4th toe, but uke resists this off-balance and pushes back on the jo.

Tori then accomodates uke, and moves the jo back to the original side of uke.  In the process, tori is going to circle to his left, keeping downward pressure on the jo with his left hand and putting the tip of the jo on the outside of uke's right wrist.  Also, while doing that, the butt end of the jo, in tori's right hand, will make a counter-clockwise motion to create more of an off-balance.  At the end of this maneuver, tori's body ends up parallel to the jo and he then moves forward, toward uke, causing uke to take a back fall.
 
4. Hidarigawa-ryote-junte-tori
 
Uke grabs the jo on his right, tori's left as tori jabs. Uke suspects the first technique, only the from the opposite side, and, instead of countering as he would for technique #2, raises the jo above his head with both hands.  Tori responds by moving parallel to uke and raising his end of the jo about chest high, with the left hand ending up a little higher than the right hand.  From the posture, tori extends uke over uke's left 4th toe causing him to take a left-sided rollout.  While in the midst of extending that off-balance, tori does a little right hand wrist curl (as we do in mae-otoshi of Ju Nana Hon Kata) to inspire a more effective off-balance.
 
5. Migigawa-ryote-junte-tori

Uke grabs the jo on his left, tori's right. Uke suspects the first technique and, instead of countering as he would for technique #2, raises the jo above his head with both hands.  Tori responds by rotating, while uke is raising the jo, counter-clockwise 3/4 of a turn and raising the jo so that he can pass under it.  This results in a similar off-balance to #4 and a similar left-sided roll-out.

6. Hidarigawa-ryote-junte-tori

Uke grabs the jo on his right, tori's left as tori jabs. Uke suspects the first technique, only the from the opposite side, and, instead of countering as he would for technique #2, raises the jo above his head with both hands.  Tori responds by rotating clockwise under the jo, pushing out and up on the jo at the same time. The butt end of the jo will not move much, resulting in tori ending up in a cross-hand grip.  Tori then drops the jo behind uke's neck, while extending uke back, causing uke to take a back fall.  Tori rotates 1/4 turn counterclockwise to keep uke from hitting his head on the jo.
 
 
Aftermath:

None of note.

From Twitter 05-05-2011



09:43:34: VikingJonesJewelry - Chainmaille bracelets and necklaces (dragonscale, persian, half-persian) http://bit.ly/jZZT5X #handmade #artfire
10:36:08: ImpressionsExpress - A variety of images available for light switches, outlets - http://bit.ly/kAuwp1 #artfire #handmade
17:03:18: HeartsCreation - a variety of stones used to create a wide variety of necklaces - http://bit.ly/jDiYqV - #handmade #artfire
17:09:31: Peri Charlifu 's art http://on.fb.me/jxxhZY will be at Armadillocon http://bit.ly/g8bt9G again this year. #armadillocon
17:24:20: ViaDellaRosa - Artfire Crazy Train - Handmade jewelry, rosaries and catholic jewelry,glass - http://bit.ly/ktQEAq #handmade #artfire
18:06:18: Padauk Bottle Stopper - item of the week in my shop. Contact me for 10% off - http://bit.ly/5TYpoV #handmade #artfire


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5.05.2011

5 day North East trip

My wife and I took a 5 day trip to the Northeast part of the U. S. over the last weekend in April.  We started in Cleveland so that I could see Roger Zelazny's home town and grab some pictures thereof.  We took off on Wednesday and landed in the early afternoon.  It wasn't early enough for us to grab a meal at one of Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" spots.  Sterle's Slovenian had closed about an hour before we got there.  So, we went on to Euclid and found the high school, the public library and Roger's boyhood home.


From Euclid, we drove on to Erie, Pa. where we ate at Joe Root's Grill.  Eire looks to be a summer tourist town, similar to Galveston, Tx.



Our goals for Thursday were to see Niagara Falls and get to Syracuse, N. Y.


We left the La Quinta after dining on their hot breakfast.  We headed up the coast.  K. noted that there was a Frank Lloyd Wright house along the way to the falls.  We found the house in Derby, N.Y. and pulled in.  Unfortunately, the Graycliff Estate is still in the process of renovation, so we could take no pictures.  We also did not schedule a tour, so we couldn't go see the current state of affairs.  From the visitor's house it looked neat.  Onward to the Falls.

We pulled into Niagara and found the Falls without any issue.  We did some walking about around the area and took some pictures.  A number of things are still closed for the season: Maid of the Mist, lower viewing area, restaurant, but enough was open for our purposes.





From the Falls, we took off to Fort Niagara.  It's a neat place and has been around in some form for about 350 years.



From Fort Niagara, we headed out to Syracuse.  The route to Syracuse amazed me.  There were tons and tons of vineyards along the way.  No green leaves yet, but there must be a ton of wine that comes out of this region.  We went through Rochester, on the way and then caught Hwy 104 and 370 on to the city.  In Syracuse, we ate at "The Distillery" which turned out to be a pretty worthless place to eat.

Friday morning, we woke up at the Inn at the Fairgrounds with a goal of making it to Brattleboro, Vt. by the end of the day.  We hopped on 20 and drove through a bunch of small towns.  We passed through one that I regret not stopping in: Manlius.  Manlius is the home to the Stickley furniture company.  They are the folks who made a lot of furniture of the style that Frank Lloyd Wright used.

We continued on to Albany, where we just happened to drive by the State Archives Library.  K. was excited about that.  From Albany, we drove to Williamstown, Ma.




From there it was a short drive up 100 into Vermont and drove up to catch 9 into Brattleboro.




Brattleboro is where we would stay the night, but it was too early to stay at the hotel.  So, on up 91 we went.  It is weird traveling in a state where they don't number the exits from the highway based on the mile marker.  I'm used to Texas, where exit 23 on Hwy 45 is 23 miles from Galveston where the road starts.  It's an easy way to guess how long it will take you to get to the exit.  In Vermont, exit 9 might be 12 miles from exit 8.

One nice thing about the roads in New York and Vermont is that there are no billboards.  It has a downside, however.  Trying to find  the Harpoon Brewery or Mitch's Sugar Shack (where we picked up 1/2 gallon of Maple Syrup) is not easy.  You have to spot little brown signs  and try to figure out what they mean.  Does that sign mean that Mitch's is 3 miles to the right?  Or does it mean that Mitch's will be on the right in 3 miles?

I'm not certain we got a firm grasp on the answer.


After Mitch's, we saw a sign for the Harpoon Brewery and figured we'd go take a look.  We were pleasantly surprised that they had a restaurant there.  We were hungry.  We ended up with the best meal of our trip at their restaurant.  I recommend it.

From there we went on to Brattleboro for the night at the Quality Inn.  On Saturday morning, our goal was to make it to Manchester N. H. by the end of the day in order to fly back home on Sunday.  The weather did not agree with our plans as it was SNOWING when we woke up!  Thankfully, it was not sticking in our area, so we felt it was safe to continue our drive.  We wanted to spend some time in Maine just wandering around.

Shortly after we got into the state we stopped into their Visitor's Center.  It was quite nice and had a huge selection of brochures.  From this point, we drove up highway 1 into Kennebunkport, just to see the town we've heard mentioned so often.  On the way back down, we stopped in Kittery to check out the Kittery Trading Post.  It has an amazing selection of outdoor gear and was quite busy.






From Kittery, it was on to Manchester, N. H. for the night at the Fairfield Inn.  We ate at the Red Arrow Diner that was on an episode of Triple D.  I had Chicken Tenders Parmigiana with Lemon Meringue Pie for dessert.  K. had Meat Loaf with Chocolate Cake for dessert.  She ate on the slice of cake for the rest of the week.  It was huge.

Sunday had us up at a pleasant time to pack and get ready for the flight home.  We turned the car in, passed through security and made it back to Houston.

5.04.2011

Artfire - Featured Shop -Tatsu Shop

I just ran across this shop, Tatsu,  on artfire today.  (I'm going to take a guess and use the masculine pronoun when referrring to the shop owner.)  He's got a number of nice wildlife pictures as well as art from manga he has created, "Ronin Yoshino".  There are also some dragon prints, as well as some other fantastical asian creature.

Here are just a few selections:





Artfire - item of the week in my shop - Padauk bottle stopper

The item of the week in my artfire shop is this Padauk Burl Bottle Stopper.  A bottle stopper turned out of padauk and matched with a chrome base. It will add an elegant touch to your open bottle of vino while keeping the flavor at its best.

Contact me for 10% off: