Happy Birthday Will!

It’s Will’s Birthday and we all know what that means: BREAKFAST AT MCDONALDS!


Two egg mcmuffins and hash browns with orange juice.

He received his present a few days earlier:

an extra-large outdoor movie screen!

And then to celebrate in the evening: DINNER AT MCDONALDS!!  Two Big Macs and Large fries with a vanilla milkshake!


Later on, he did say that he had a headache and maybe two Big Macs was one too many.  I am going to go with: yes, it was.  Next, he swears he will only have one Big Mac, with a quarter pounder….

No. 5!

A Picnic in Meridian Hill Park with Stirling to celebrate!

Base Tans

Will and I are working on our base tans in preparation for a two-week vacation in Barbados with the Cunningham clan. We have been sitting outside in our garden, an hour or two at a time, trying to get some color on our pale and pasty white skin.  All in an effort to not get burned while down on the island.

ohh plus a lovely view of the upper garden!

Though, I think Will's effort to not get burned might not have succeeded....

4 and counting!

Four years and counting and what a marvelous four years it's been! 

At the Great Wall

In Copenhagen

In Louisville

In Bangkok

Lap Time

A dispatch from Will:

Ok – so today there were some squishy bread rolls kicking around at lunch time….

Just bread, wrapped in some plastic.

Turning it over I read the warning on the bottom and had to share their brilliant disclaimer.

Brilliant!  They should adopt that policy in the US – no more suing McDonalds for finding a band aid in your burger after you’ve left the drive through!

I think I was outside the one hour ‘lap time’ but just had to see what it tasted like and what ‘quality issues’ I might encounter.

it tasted fine – a slightly sweetened squishy bun. Maybe I’ll get bird flu from it – who knows.  Either way – I’m outside the lap time so it’ll be my fault.  

******

On a separate note: I am off to Beijing today and the blog will not be updated until we get back. It is blocked in China-- or so Will tells me.  I think it might have something to do with the fact that BlogSpot is run by Google and Google and the Chinese Government are not BFFs.  I am packed, repacked, and ready to go.  Stirling, sensing something is up, decided that she would hurt herself and cause a midnight trip to the vet-- turns out that she has arthritis in her elbow and her romps with Biscuit have exacerbated it.  Two medications and a jar of peanut butter will accompany her when she stays with Angus this week. She just proved that getting old, no matter what species, isn't fun.  

Anyway, I'll catch up with you all next week! 

Back to the Future-Part III: Forbidden City

Will says that Blogspot is blocked in China (Doesn't surprise me it is run by Google, and Google and the Chinese Government are the best of friends) so he sent me these photos of his tour through the Forbidden City.  It is more of a taste of what he saw and I have a vague idea of what things are only because I finally read the guide book I purchased a month ago.

Lion guarding the stairs into the buildings where the emperors once lived

the walls around the forbidden city

Will commented that now the trains and station names are in English (we had friends visiting recently who said that when they were there before the Olympics, it was hard to find any sign in English).  He was able to work his way down from the our hotel near the Bird's Nest to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with ease.  It was unbelievably crowded for 7 am on a Saturday morning, and crushes of people were trying to get into the train cars. 

Gates

the first open square in the Forbidden City

 The treasures room in the palace seem to be his favorite out of all the rooms. I will see if that is mine when I go!

Bridges over into the man buildings of the emperors of China

The Forbidden City

To China!

Will is in Beijing now and I am following out shortly. He has already enjoyed a few of the sights and tastes of China.  The hotel is near the Bird's Nest and Will ventured out on the subway to get to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  He has already seen several statues that he wants to bring back for the garden or the display shelf (above the linen closet) in the bathroom.  It looks that the weather is clear and are about the same temperatures are DC.

Tiananmen Square

stir fry

Don't know how much blogging I can do from Beijing but don't worry-- you will see plenty of photos when we get back.  I have the rest of the weekend and then I go.  And yes, I have already packed once.  I am now in the process of repacking.  Typical girl, eh?

Will's Favorite Time of Year

Will sent this to me in a text, stating:

"It's that time of year!"

Cadberry Creme Eggs are out for Easter.  I suspect that soon the shelves will be empty in the DC-area.

You will have to come to our house if you want a creme egg.

More Orchids in Bloom

 We are very excited to report that the large porcelain pot of orchids that Will created works.  After Will had transplanted over 10 orchids into the pot, we weren't sure if the orchids would survive the move; if they would like being in a forest of other orchids; or if the pot would hold enough moisture for their roots.  We are very excited to say that all of our worries were for nought.  We have two orchids in bloom in the pot, along with several new leaves and roots.

As for the two hanging plant trays, we were also concerned that raising them up would decrease their  access to sunlight.  We can say now that it definitely hasn't!  We have a spray of white orchid blossom that is simply beautiful.

The plants seem to have taken to their new environment quite well.  Now we can rest assured that they are getting enough light and enough water and are happy enough to send out new leaves, new roots, and new blossoms.

DC Painting Surprise!

When I got back from my trip to Kentucky, I had a painting surprise of my own! Will had re-plastered and painted the en suite bathroom for the main guest room!  He had an electrician come in to put a GFCI plug in (no more hairdrying in the bedroom without a mirror!).  He replastered the cracks from the earthquake we had a few summers ago.  He painted the walls a lovely caramel color that we also have in the t.v. room downstairs.  He retiled a couple of places where the tiles had popped off the wall. He changed out the faucet to a lovely new chrome one.  He added a new soap dish and cup holders.  He hung a shelf for guests to put their toiletries.  He even added art work so the bathroom was decorated.  

I was shocked and flabbergasted and so impressed! I am not sure what prompted him to do it, but it was such an amazing surprise.  Now the guest bathroom is ready and waiting for more guests!  Who's going to be the first to check it out in person?

Was Will the Inspiration for this?

Every time we go to the grocery store, Will is determined to carry everything in one trip.  This is exactly what it is like:

And the girlfriend's reaction? That is exactly my reaction.   Everytime.

The Treatment

Will made himself dinner tonight: roasted winter vegetables and a pan-seared chicken breast.  Stirling came over and gave him "the treatment": her chin on his leg and a cold, hard stare enticing you to share your dinner, preferably the meat part. 

On the Road Again

On the road once again.  Christmas is over and we must once again return to DC-- an 11 hour drive back to reality.  Sigh..... 

Cunningham Tablet

Will and I had an idea for Christmas.

We would make his favorite candy: Scottish Tablet, a vanilla-fudgey-grainly- sweet confection. His mother had given us a recipe a few years ago, but she had never tried so she was not sure about it.  We used it as inspiration, found some coberating recipes online, and then tried our hand at it.

First, this is not for the diabetics out there.  And if you aren't one when you begin making Tablet, you will be when you finish making it-- especially if you make as much as we did.  Each batch takes:

• one stick of butter
• one can of condensed milk
• 911 grams (or 5.5 cups) of caster sugar
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• teeny-tiny amount of vanilla, like 4 or 5 drops

I substituted the whole milk and heavy cream for just one cup of 2% milk, so I had a low-fat version.  Wink, wink.  I can tell you that 911 grams of sugar is A LOT of sugar.  And when I doubled the recipe, seeing 1822 grams of sugar was mind blowing.  

You mix the butter, milk, and sugar together, slowly bringing it to a boil and stirring constantly.  And I do mean bring to a boil s-l-o-w-l-y. It is best to cook the mixture on a medium-to-law heat.  Once the mixture has boiled, you then pour in the condensed milk.  The mixture needs to boil again and reach the temperature of 240ºF, or the soft ball stage of candy making.  You need to stir it occasionally, watch the mixture until it gets to the right temperature as well as nice deep golden color. 

After it reaches the right temperature and color, remove the pot from heat and the fun begins: a constant, quick, repetitive stirring for at least 10 minutes.  On the final batch, I finally broke out the hand mixer with the whisk attachment.  The key to Tablet is mixing in the air.  The air makes the sugar crystallize, the key difference between fudge and Tablet.  When you see the mixture gritting onto the sides of the pan, and you can feel the grit when you taste it (and you should be tasting this as you go along, it is really delicious), then you then pour it out into a greased pan. 

 

It will start to cool as you stir in the pot, and after the 10 minutes of whipping it followed by pouring into the pan, the tablet cools even quicker.  Let it rest in the pan for a bit and then you can score it to make it easier to take out of the pan.  

Once it is out and cool, the pieces will be grainy and crumbly and taste like vanilla and a sugar cube had a baby, which is almost the case.   

After 7 batches (4 of which were doubled and one of which failed when we didn't stir it enough; and don't even think about how many pounds of sugar that is), we are pretty much pros at making Tablet and yet I still failed to take a photo of the finished product.  Instead, you will have to imagine the small bricks of candy, sitting in Christmas tissue paper, in the decorative tins, sealed with ribbon and a homemade label featuring the Cunningham Tartan. 

 

Stilton Taste Test

It is tradition in the UK to have a wheel of Stilton, the king of cheese, to tuck into with your Stilton scoop. In 1730, Mr. Cooper Thornhill, owner of the Bell Inn on the Great North Road in the town of Stilton, discovered the distinctive blue cheese while visiting a small farm in Leicestershire, which is northwest England. He liked the cheese so much, he began selling it out of his inn, gaining exclusive rights.  It was soon being delivered throughout London and north of England; all the stagecoach routes having to go through Stilton, Mr. Thornhill was able to promote and sell his cheese, making it famous.

Now, only three countries can make a cheese that is properly labeled a Stilton, a situation similar to Champagne or Bourbon: it can only be made in the registered areas.  But Stilton, though creamy and delicious, is also quite pricey.  And there are other blue cheeses out there, and just like you have Prosecco or Tennessee Whiskey, you can have other creamy blue cheese than Stilton.

So, Will bought us a "Stilton Education."  Purchasing seven cheeses (technically, 6 since one was bought twice, but at the time, we didn't realize it), we laid out all of the cheeses in a row.  We tried to organize the cheese according to price per pound (knowing that proper Stilton is about $30/lb.)

We bought:

• Neals Yard Closten Basset Stilton ($29.99/lb)
• Neals Yard Borough Street Stilton ($17.99/lb)
• Lor des Domes Fourme D'Ambert ($14.99/lb)--this is the one we purchased two samples
• Roth Kase Buttermilk Blue ($11.99/lb)
• Roth Kase Moody Blue Smoked Blue ($12.99/lb)
• Salemville Amish Blue Cheese ($6.99/lb)

I was able to pick out one of the two Stiltons we bought, and was able to get most of the cheeses in the right price order.  Next step, was the taste test.  We opened all the cheeses and each tasted them.  We picked our favorites.  Amazingly it was not the Neals Yard Closten Basset Stilton-- and at $30 a pound, that was a relief.  Will and I both liked the Neals Yard Borough Street Stilton and the Lor des Domes Fourme D'Ambert-- a French blue cheese!

Then came the blind taste test.  On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, we had to blindly sample a bit of cheese and give it a rating.

The result is that we still preferred the Borough Street Stilton as still the best, but that the French do know what they are doing when it comes to blue cheese as well.  Not to mention that the Lor des Domes Fourme D'Ambert is slightly cheaper-- very important when considering buying a wheel of cheese (which is could range form 2.5 lbs to 6 lbs, depending on how many people we wanna fed at Christmas).  So, the education was completed and the test results as follows: Stilton is still King, but the French cheese is Queen, and the one we will get a wheel of for Christmas.

New Orchids!

Will received a new orchid from Jen as a thank you gift for us watching her kitties over Thanksgiving.  It is a Trichocentrum cebolleta: a mini orchid from Costa Rica.  Don't worry-- it was legal for her to bring it into the country. It came in a vial with half jelly-like substance and half air.  We guess that it could get water from that substance; though we aren't sure for how long.  Now it is planted with orchid bark and moss and we are waiting for it to do something.

Speaking of doing something, when we put the orchids into the large pot (remember this? ), we weren't sure if any of the orchids would survive.  We figure some would die from being moved around or being overcrowded.  But surprisingly enough, we have lots of new orchid growth: new leaves, new roots, and--most exciting-- new spikes!!  When the flowers come, we will call ourselves successful in this experiment.

Pomegranate Tree?

Will saved the best for last: a pomegranate from one of the trees in the regional garden!  One was on the ground and full of seeds.  It found its way to our house too and currently we have two small mounds in our front yard.  Hopefully we will grow a pomegranate tree or two!!