comics

Operation Help-Max-Get-Chickens, part 1

I spent the last week in New Jersey, helping my sister get started with chicken-keeping.

This was the plan. It was supposed to be easy.

the original chicken tractor-building schedule

But of course, things don’t always go as planned.

the actual unfolding of chicken preparation events

We originally meant to get a flock of Orpingtons and/or Rhode Island Reds, but the farmer lady had an Ameraucana. I hadn’t recently researched it, but I remembered it was a favorite of many. So after the hour-long high-speed chase, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this:

ameraucanas love to escape, apparently

So that was my week. With a haircut by my sisters and a trip to New York squeezed in there somewhere.

Next time I’ll go into detail about the tractor itself.

Chinese food scavenger hunt

Alright, people, count up your points.

My oldest sister just got back from her first trip to China. I threw together a food-related scavenger hunt for her, and she brought it back with check marks (and a few corrections and edits by real Chinese people). There are of course many many many things missing, but it’s all that popped in my head in the hour before she left. Also, my handwriting looks worse than a 4-year-old’s.

sichuan dry pot 麻辣香锅

sichuan dry pot mala xiangguo 麻辣香锅

starring:
腐竹 tofu skin
海带 seaweed
山药 yam thing that I’d never had before going to China
莲藕 lotus root
chicken wings

skewers 串

skewers chuan'r 串
starring: squid! roaches! silkworms! saury fish!

various fruits 水果

various fruits shuiguo 水果

starring:
榴莲 durian菠萝蜜 jackfruit
火龙果 dragonfruit
百香果 passionfruit
金橘 kumquat
杨梅 some kind of berry

various meats / bbq 烧肉

various meats and bbq shaokao 烤肉

Main blundering error here is where I wrote “barbecue hunger” instead of “barbecue goose.”

松树鳜鱼 squirrel fish
红烧肉 red braised pork
澳门烧肉 macau roast pig
烧鹅 bbq goose (… not hunger)
烧鸭 bbq duck

sticky rice in a leaf 糯米鸡 / 荷叶饭

sticky rice in a leaf nuomi ji 糯米鸡 heye fan荷叶饭

and now for some odd pairings:

pineapple bun 菠萝饱 / thousand year egg 皮蛋

pineapple bun boluo bao 菠萝饱 thousand year egg pidan 皮蛋

pumpkin and lily petals 南瓜百合 / yak yogurt (yunnan) 牦牛酸奶

pumpkin and lily petals nangua baihe 南瓜百合 yak yogurt from yunnan maoniu suannai 牦牛酸奶

Yaks have huge nostrils and eyes.

And of course, on a China-related scavenger hunt, this is obligatory:

squatty potty 厕所

squatty potty cesuo 厕所Apparently, Mabel’s most uttered phrase was “厕所在哪儿？” She got so many points from this!!

Bass bar

my first bass bar is still not done

My 2nd trimester at CSVM has ended and I’m on break. Last thing I did was try to finish my bass bar in a huge panic, and well… let’s just say adrenaline is unhelpful for very fine knife work.

graph of patience level and progress

Several upperclassmen recounted horror stories of unfinished bass bars warping and twisting over breaks. This happens to be the LONGEST break we get – 3.5 weeks – and it’s spring, so I know Chicago will go from frozen to warm to thunderstorm to sun several times. Everyone has told me I can’t expect to pick up where I left off before break… and maybe I will have to restart completely!

projected bass bar progress over spring break

In fact, with all the stories people love to tell, I think now I might be disappointed if I am greeted by anything short of this:

bass bar after spring break