caracolina

We drove out to the Tempe Dollar Theatre to see “Om Shanti Om” with Shah Rukh Khan and thoroughly enjoyed it. Another fun film directed by Farah Khan (Main Hoon Na). Since this movie was about people in the film industry in the 70s and today there were a ton of movie references and spoofs, some we got and most we didn’t get, but that didn’t stop us from having a good old escapist time. John actually bought the soundtrack some time ago, but as usually the songs didn’t click with me until I saw them “picturized” (that’s what they call it over there). After the show was over we chatted for a while with Emily, a lady John recently met at Indo-Euro, so that it was almost midnight when we got home, but no regrets, it was a great night at the movies.

Some time ago we bought a bunch of tickets for events at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Tonight was the first event, a performance by pianist Gabriella Moreno from Venezuela. During the first half she played a number of pieces by Chopin, after the intermission she did some improvisations based on themes suggested by the audience. All in all, a very nice performance, except…

Some people around us though were just awful. First, the guy sitting next to John. He complained several times to his wife about the location of their seats (“all I can see is the back of her head”) and then made rustling noises with his program during the beginning of the performance. They left during intermission, what a relief. Later we heard a loud clicking sound and wondered who dropped something. After the next click we realized there was an old man sitting across the aisle from us who was clipping his finger nails! And, to top it off, a couple behind us was muttering loudly during the improvisations. They apparently didn’t like Ms. Moreno’s style. The woman was chewing her gum so loudly (these are people in their 50s or 60s!) that John finally lost it and complained about it to her. She said “Mind your own business!” and we just got up and left. Good timing, actually, because that allowed us to get a late dinner at Banderas on Scottsdale Road.

I just came back from my midday walk and it must be close to 90 F/32 C degrees (the “official” temperature is 82 F/28C). I’m melting!!! This time of year we should be in the mid-70s F (or lower 20s C).

The worms are slowly ingesting their bedding. We tried adding some food but I don’t think it was chopped small enough and we also didn’t mix it in with the bedding well, so it got a bit smelly and we removed it. Tonight we are going to blend some more food waste so it is mushy and then mix it in with the bedding, then cover it with more moist newspaper. Chow down, wormies!!!

Beginning of September I started my trial batch of limoncello by pouring 750ml of Everclear and 750ml Vodka into a large jar and stirring the peel of 30 or so lemons in. Tonight was the night to open the jar, strain the liquid (which has a very beautiful golden color) and add freshly boiled syrup to make it drinkable. The mixture will have to settle for another 1-2 more weeks. I hope it will be worth the hassle. The fumes from the undiluted alcohol are so strong that I feel hungover just from standing next to it. I had a taste before we pushed the jar back into its corner and it was really strong with only a hint of sweetness.

After spending all day indoors we decided to go for a “walk” at Barnes & Noble at Desert Ridge. I picked up a latte, perused some crochet and spinning magazines and then wandered the aisles. On my way from the bargains to the craft section I ran into Laura, her hubby Don, and their cute little girl Riley. Riley is almost 3 now, last time I saw her she was just a baby. The thing with Laura is that we met when consulting at Intel (1998 or so?) and have been losing sight of each other and then bumping into each other again every few years. One time, my mom, John, and I were spending a couple of days in Page to see Lake Powell and we met Laura and a coworker in the dining room of our hotel! We’ll get together for more chit-chat pretty soon here, I hope, before another 2-3 years pass….

We took a little drive today to visit Tonopah Rob’s farm out in – almost the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t difficult to find after we turned off I-10 at 339th Avenue; the directions were clear. At the farm stand we spent some time chatting with Jerry, Rob’s friend and help, then Rob took us around and showed us the beds on 2 acres with a huge variety of vegetables and greens. It was amazing to see these dark green patches in the midst of dusty desert soil. Equally amazing is Rob’s enthusiasm for farming healthy veg. He keeps everything chemical-free which means it is as good or better than organic, although he doesn’t have the official label (which is really expensive and cost-prohibitive for small operations). Too bad Tonopah is so far away from us, but at least he’ll be at the Phoenix Public Market again soon (that’s where we met him a couple months ago.)

We also met one of Rob’s neighbors who runs a goat farm with his wife. They are working on getting the license that allows them to sell goat dairy products at the Phoenix Market (they have a stand now, but only with eggs and a few other items.) 

We picked up a few bags of greens, asian egg plants, jalapenos, and some really cool looking purple bell peppers.

I’ll actually have to make an appointment with an advisor to really confirm, but this should be my last class, chemistry. I’m really curious what kind of experiments I’ll get to conduct at home.  The class starts on the 13th, hopefully I’ll be able to get ahead of schedule with the communication class until then.

I came home after work and immediately checked on the wigglers. Everything was calm, no slithering about whatsoever. I had to poke around gently to see a worm. This is normal, since the worms are nocturnal, but I sure can’t wait to see some feeding activity in there. I know I’m a worry wart, but one of the worst case scenarios I can think of with these critters is that they somehow all die off and become rather smelly. The other worst case scenario is a mass prison break, of course.

Move over Murph, here come the worms. We finally took the plunge and invested in a state-of-the-art worm box and 1 pound of worms, courtesy of Robert at Canyonland Worms. We met Robert last weekend at the Roadrunner Park Farmers Market and everything just seemed right for us to make the move. Ever since we’ve been cooking, juicing, and making almond milk at home we have lamented the amounts of veg pulp and peel that had to go into the garbage instead of a compost heap. Now we’ll get to feed our wiggly friends instead! In return we’ll receive worm castings which are a great addition for the garden (well, balcony in our case).

After we got home with our prize (the worms traveled – mixed in peat mulch – in a linen sack) I prepared the bottom tray of our worm box by lining it with moist newspaper. Then I soaked a brick of coconut coir in some water and spread that on top of the paper. Finally the wigglers moved in. They are currently burrowing into the coir and getting ready for a nap (since the light is on). It will take a couple of days for them to feel at home and start feeding. We probably won’t have to add food until Sunday or so. I’m so excited!!!