Northern Adventure

I felt like something to eat the other evening, and usually I'd have a bowl of krispies. But we'd run out and I didn't feel like going to the shop to get more. So instead I made rice pudding from scratch. It turned out exactly like rice pudding from a can even down to the lack of a certain flavour that I can't quite put my finger on. I always feel like it's just not good enough. Or maybe there's some flavour in the pudding itself that I want to tone down or something. Anyway, it satisfied my desire for krispies.

A small group of us went to Flagstaff last weekend. While the others went to the Grand Canyon on Saturday, we headed south to Sedona and Jerome. Sedona is the same amazing as always. I think I could live there and the red rocks would never get old. Storm clouds were building on every part of the horizon as we wandered around, so we didn't dally.

Onwards to Jerome and while wandering Main St, I felt an awful sense of familiarity. I'd seen this before, and I knew exactly where. Google streetview. When we first moved to Arizona I'd looked up Jerome because that's where Maynard James Keenan (of Tool) set up his wine shop. But I'd completely forgotten that and when I saw this street again, I was like: we have to find Caduceus Cellars. We did find it and stopped in to sample wine made by a rock star. It was pretty good. It didn't taste "winey" if that makes any sense. There wasn't that horrible bitter taste that any wine I've ever had before has had. Some did, but we ended up buying two bottles that didn't. The rain came in then, so we grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to Flagstaff. We fit Lowell Observatory in that evening with the rest of the group, and weren't up for much else but food and bed afterwards.

Sunday, we strolled down to Flagstaff Extreme (and when I say strolled I mean we drove the few miles but didn't do it with any kind of urgency). It's an adventure course up in the trees and we had great fun balancing across logs and swinging from zip lines. Not fun was the rope swing. I was clinging on so hard I hurt my back and even with that I barely made it to the other side before my grip gave out entirely. My fingers were still sore an hour later. We were just under half way through the course when thunder rolled in and spoiled our fun. But they gave us a full refund, which is pretty amazing considering that thunder rolls in every afternoon this time of year.

The others headed to Meteor Crater, but we've also been there before, so we just headed home. I love Flagstaff, though. It's such a cool town, with an amazing vibe. And the people who live there are so cool. Chandler is so dull and homogenized in comparison. But at least we've been getting away most weekends recently, which is great.

I Bought a Bow

Look, look! I can post again without feeling like a stranger on my own blog. Yeay.

So, this is a little random. And of course it needs a story to go along with it. We went out for brunch yesterday and I decided I wanted to go to REI (they are having a sale and I wanted to see if I could pick up a wicking string top; I couldn't, but that's not part of this story). After REI we went to the games shop and on the way home we ended up going north on the 101 instead of south.

"You know what's up this way?" I said. "Bass Pro." Yes. Bass Pro, a fishing, hunting, boating, really crazy-american (sorry Americans, but face it, you do have a penchant for going over the top with things) outdoor shop. That place was an experience - taxidermy animals all over the place, antlers lining the walls, a massive aquarium in the middle of the giant shop. I was pretty cool, but pretty frightening at the same time. I suppose hunting is such a small thing in Ireland that seeing a whole shop dedicated to it was odd.

Anyway, we just went up to see the place, because we'd been told it was worth seeing. I kinda wish I'd brought my camera, but I would have looked weird taking photos and the security people probably would have given out to me.

So, this all brings us up to the point of my story. They had a load of archery stuff upstairs (down from the racks and racks of guns and rifles) and I got all nostalgic about archery. There's a range here in Chandler by the dog park and I always look in wistfully when we pass. So we looked at bows. Not seriously, because they were all over $200, but I can't say I wasn't tempted.

That evening, as I was importing old posts into Blogger, I came across a post where I wrote about the archery class I did back in '06 / '07. And I'd written the name of the bows we used. And out of curiosity, I went on Amazon to see if they sell them. And they do...

So, I think the title of the post says all that needs to be said at this point. Well, except that it's bright blue and will be here on Wednesday and that Chandler Archery Club is giving a one-day lesson in June. they run lessons through-out the year too.

Sedona Hike

I'm exhausted right now. I'm trying to get my word count for the day done (and catch up on yesterday) and it's just not happening. And why am I so tired? Well...

We went out on Thursday and one of the lads mentioned, rather off handedly, that they were going to Sedona on Saturday. "Are ye going hiking?" I asked. They were. And I knew I was going with them. I found out on Friday that they had a free space, and not too bright and early on Saturday we set off for Cathedral Rock.
The hike was amazing. I'd really wanted to go for a bit of a walk when we were there last, but lordkilljoy wasn't up for it. So less than a month later I got my chance. The hike itself was short, but steep and we took a few breaks to catch our breath on the way up. We got to the saddle - a flat patch of rock between two steep drops - and ogled at the beauty of the place. It really is incredible. But that wasn't all. The trail went on a little more to a higher, narrower saddle and just standing there (in a vortex), surrounded by orange-red rock seeing the sun shining from the pristine blue sky and making the rock seem to glow was spectacular.
The descent took about half the time as the ascent - the whole hike taking us only two hours. With a good part of the afternoon left, we headed out the other side of Sedona to Slide Rock Park. It was nice - we had a bit of a warm-down walk around. But it was nothing compared to Cathedral Rock. I dipped my feet into the creek and the water was freezing. So cold that no matter how often you dipped them in and took them out again they never got used to the frigidness of it. But it was lovely to cool my feet down after the hike.
We came home then, had a lovely barbecue and by then I was fit for nothing but bed. And it seems I didn't get enough sleep, because I feel really tired now having done nothing more strenuous than walk around a pumpkin patch / farm / autumn celebration thing. Ah well. Maybe food will help. And maybe I can catch up on the word count tomorrow.

Digestive Biscuit Experiment I

Aside: I found a cicada outside the apartment and I brought him in and put him in a ventilated jar with the stem of a hunk of broccoli. I think he's half dead, but he moves every so often. I hope he finds the broccoli and gets strong again. Either that or he's moulting and I'm about to have something massive on my hands. He already has wings, though, so I don't think he's moulting.

We went to a baseball game on Sunday (Arizona Diamondbacks vs LA Dodgers). It was really fun. It went on for about 3 hours but the time flew. I now understand a lot more about baseball and the lady beside me commented about how I was getting better at cheering at the right times - rather than just because everyone else was cheering.

Anyway. I got it in my head last week that I wanted digestives (McVities ones). But instead of just going two miles to the shop (Tesco have a food shop here - Fresh and Easy - which sells English stuff), I decided I wanted to bake my own. So I looked up the ingredients on a pack of digestives and off I went. Of course, in my case this means making out spreadsheets and looking up ratios and doing random calculations. Then I had to figure out how to bake them. Anyway. The first experiment was a failure. The only resemblance to digestives is that they are sweet and wheaty. I mean, they taste nice - I've been munching away on them all morning - but they are not what I wanted. So, for posterity, here's the recipe, and what I would do differently.



134g ap flour
44g wheat flour
39g sugar
scant 1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp dry buttermilk

40g canola oil
1/2 tbsp water
10g (scant 1/2 tbsp) golden syrup

First off, not nearly enough liquid. I had to add 3 or 4 tablespoons of water extra to the mix. The texture is too soild and the taste is not wheaty enough. So different flour - possibly cake flour, and definitely a coarse ground whole wheat (which I couldn't find in the shop). The sweetness seems about right. I think the next experiment needs more oil, possibly, and a marginally hotter oven (though the bottoms of the biscuits will get burned). Also people say to use white sugar for more crunch. Possibly more salt? You can sometimes taste the salt in digestives. Melted butter instead of oil, but the ingredients definitely list vegetable oil and not butter, so that's out. It's also possible I put in too much leavening.



Anyway. I'll get to that another day. I want to make dog biscuits for River too. so I'll do them on the same day.

I don't think I have any other news.

Best Weekend Ever

Friday we went to the cinema to see Cabin in the Woods. A bit scary, a good story and a fun ending. I enjoyed it.

Yesterday we drove the start of the Apache Trail. We brought River along with us, but I guess the sharp bends and ups and downs didn't agree with her. She was very pathetic, and when the road turned into gravel we turned back. It was a good trip all the same, ans we're going to try it again some day without River.

Today, we got up and I didn't know what to do with myself. Go to the hot tub, go to the pool, waste time on the internet... lordkilljoy somehow came up with the idea of going to a waterpark (I wish I could remember how this idea came about). So we looked up waterparks and the big one in Phoenix was having the last day of its reduced price season passes. On an absolute whim we bought season passes, got in the car and went to the waterpark. It was the most amazing fun I've had in ages. All the slides we went on were so much fun - and this one was the best:


The Tornado

You get in, go around a bit, down a big dip and into this huge funnel where you go back and forth a few times until you get spit out the end. It was so amazing. And the great thing was that the park was really quiet today so we got out of the pool, ran back up the steps and didn't have to wait at all to do it again.

The only downside to the day was that the weather was cold. Okay, it was 20degrees, but windy, and when you are wet in a swimsuit that's not quite warm enough. I was shivering badly by the end of the hour and a half we spent there. That's the cool thing about passes. You don't feel like you have to make the most of it, because we can go again whenever we want and it's only 45 minutes away.

Writing Troubles

This week has been slower than most. Usually by Wednesday I've picked up my pace after the weekend, and things start to get written. Not this week. I'm only a thousand and a bit words into this chapter (and my 5,000 per week). I have a lot to get done tomorrow and Friday, and I'm just not inspired by this scene at all. It's fine, but it seems so forced. It's a way to get from A to B. I've changed things around a bit and it's better than my original idea, but still.

I like Lj's spring banner. It's bright and cute. And it suits the rest of the site.

It got down to -11 last night. There is ice on the inside of the window again. I went out for a bit today (about 5 minutes) and my nose and fingers were freezing. It was -9 at that stage. It's -10 now. Brrrr. But it's sunny and the snow is melting. Wait... the snow is melting at -10? How does that work? The forecast is giving -20 for tonight. -20. Seriously.
I put an extra blanket on the bed last night - it was doubled over so that was two extra layers, and I was toasty, but not roasting. So if it's going to be double what it was from 0 last night tonight (writing how you speak doesn't really work at all - just focus on the next few words), I'm going to have to put on 4 blankets or something.
Earlier this week the forecast was giving 17 for later in the month. That's gone now. 11 is the highest. No, wait. It's 14.

Can you tell I'm just wasting time now?

What other news? We went walking on volcanoes on Saturday. It was good. The climate here is amazing. It's like being on another planet. The grass is yellow and the sky is the deepest shade of blue.

Right, so. I'll go now.

a trip to corrales

Woo, writing procrastination. I've been back writing 2 days now and already i'm on here writing in my journal instead of plotting book 2. well, i've hit a snag and i've been meaning to write in here since sunday, so it all works out.

we went to corrales on sunday afternoon. it's a five minute drive from our apartment. it's really weird actually, you drive along the main road and it's all built up and american looking. then you cross a street and go around a corner and all of a sudden you are in the country. there's this sign that says 'welcome to corrales village' and that's it. it's fields, trees and narrow roads from then on. corrales did not disappoint. the moment i learned we were moving to albuquerque, i went online to find the best place to live. after a few minutes research i centered on corrales. it's got adobe houses, farms, horses, greenhouses, grass, trees - all sun bleached and wind worn.

All our stuff should get here this week. I can't wait to have a variety of clothes to wear. I've had the same few tops for the last month and i'm a bit sick of them by now. I also can't wait to have my bike so I can go slightly farther afield than i can now. And I can do fun things like bring a picnic down to the river and stuff. whey.

we got newts

We tried yoshi on feeder fish the other day; wandered down to the pet shop and picked up 3 cheap, small goldfish. but yoshi, being the picky eater he is, ate none of them. so we left them in his bowl, thinking they looked nice in there - swimming around and being all colourful and fish-like. off we went to bed that night hoping he'd eat one in the morning (we are very naiive when it comes to thinking yoshi will actually eat exotic foods). unfortunately, next morning two of them were floating belly-up in the bowl (the smallest and largest). possibly died of too high water temperature.
so anyway - we were left with one goldfish who we rapidly took out of yoshi's tank and put into a jug of cold water. but we couldn't leave him there. he needed a tank or something while we wait for yoshi to get big enough to eat him. so off we went to the pet shop again, in search of a suitable tank. now, i should mention that while we were there picking up the goldfish the day before we noticed some exceptionally cute newts. that night we did a bit of research into what sort of tank they need, food, co-habiting status and things. did i mention that they are the most adorable little frog/lizard looking dudes? and that i've wanted a newt since i learned that you can keep them as pets?
yea - we came home with two newts, a tank, decorations and food. :)










in other news: we're watching battlestar galactica at the moment. i'm really enjoying it. the characters are very believable and the plot is well written, with enough high points to keep every episode interesting. we're about half way through season 2 at the moment.

i've had a really busy weekend actually - on friday i went to the cinema (twice). the first show was bolt with goblin_insane. i enjoyed it just as much as the first time seeing it. then goblin_insane and i went for lunch in the porterhouse (they make delicious wings) where we met up with lordkilljoy. from there we went around town for a bit (goblin_insane headed off to meet claudia) and lordkilljoy and i wandered around until we randomly bumped into ildanach, adain and rob. plans were made for dinner and we wasted time until then by going to going to the cinema for the second time - this time to see genova, which was terribly dull. dinner in yamamori noodles (yummy) and plans to go to the zoo.
sunday = zoo day - lots of animals. they have amazing tigers. we saw some sealions being fed, and just had fun looking around. yea - and elephants are ginormous.
today lordkilljoy had off as a holiday. we got used to the newts - i named them, newt and something else which i forgot almost straight away. it was a really cool name too. ah well.

right - this is a really long post. i'm going to go now.