Last night was the science fiction movie with you and me...

I dread the return of colder weather. Just as we have an "Indian Summer" in the later weeks of Autumn, I submit to you - dear readers, that we also have a Spring equivalent. What do we call our dreaded cold snap in the early weeks of Spring?

"Cleveland Winter" is the term I'd expect from most anyone I'd ask.

Just as the frost kills the early blooms and causes the forsythias to recoil in horror, it seems to do the same to you and I. When it's warm and sunny, we peek our heads out from our turtle-necked sweaters and peacoats to smell the air and gaze at the clear blue skies. The cold transforms us once again, like the idealistic forsythia - except that we retreat to the comforts of our coats and scarves, only looking up enough to make eye contact with the crosswalks and entryways we shuffle so expeditiously into to escape the snow and wind.

I cannot wait until we bloom once again.

Jeff participated in the Fools 25k Trail Run at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on Sunday. He handily won the race with a respectable time of 1:45:22. Running may not be too fascinating a sport for most people, but I really do love going to races that he's in. I'll stop fawning over him here before I turn into a puddle of treacle - but it is pretty darn awesome to see him run.

To celebrate, Jeff and I went to Mekong River off of Lee - a place we've been to a few times before. Jeff seems to be a great fan of Thai/Cambodian food, since we do cook those sorts of things quite frequently. I won't lie, I sometimes think he's cheating on me with Sriracha. (a burning love - literally)

I ordered Paradise Shrimp (a dish in a yellow curry with pineapple, shrimp and too many green things I didn't care for) and Jeff got the Cambodian Curry (a beef stew-like dish with potato and yam). After having a few bites of Jeff's dish I was instantly jealous. We decided immediately that we had to try and duplicate this at some point.

Later in the evening, Jeff brought Eponine over to meet Onyx since we're moving in together at the end of May. (Did I forget to mention that?) I really wish my batteries would have been charged, because some of their encounters were so funny. They didn't fight, but they did hiss at each other a few times. Onyx hissed loudly and Eponine mostly sounded like she was deflating. It was cute. They were mostly scared of each other and should be fine once we're all settled in here together. Onyx still has to meet Francesca. Fran is a fairly laid back kitty, so we'll see what happens.

And now, it's time to expand your minds and musical tastes. I present to you... Elvis Perkins.



His debut album, Ash Wednesday has a somber and soulful timbre - Perkins himself admitted that a large part of the album was shaped by the passing of his mother - a passenger on the ill-fated American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles on September 11, 2001. Elvis Perkins' father passed away in 1992 due to complications of AIDS. (via Wikipedia)

Don't listen to him because doing so gives you a particularly sad story to tell your friends when asked - listen because the music is rich and meaningful.

Perkins et al recently released a new album (titled Elvis Perkins in Dearland) that seems to have a sunnier disposition, not that there was anything wrong with the previous album. Amazon has samples of all of the tracks, so check them out!

Jeff bought the album, but I haven't listened to much of it yet. We discovered Elvis Perkins when seeing Okkervil River perform in Columbus about 2 1/2 years ago. He was one of the openers and I instantly decided that I liked him a lot. Perkins grew on Jeff a little slower, I think.

On the Wings of a Bird

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight I had an evangelical experience. I didn't put a Billy Graham sermon on my iPod, no...

I went to see Andrew Bird in concert tonight.

People were dancing in the aisles, shouting and crying - it was almost as if one was in attendance of a glorious, profane tent revival underneath the gilded ceilings of the Allen Theatre.

Andrew Bird's sock monkey was in attendance, sitting behind him at center stage. I remember seeing him two years ago in Columbus. A fan at his show the previous night (Detroit) had given him the sock monkey, smartly dressed as Bird himself would be onstage, complete with a tiny violin and case with a camouflage strap. He hadn't named the monkey yet, though some in the audience suggested that he name him Dr. Strings - to Mr. Bird's amusement.

The show took place two years ago at the Great Southern Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. It was my introduction to Andrew Bird's music and has since been one of my favorite concert experiences.

When I learned that he would be performing in Cleveland, my attendance was compulsory. I anticipated the show from the moment I bought the tickets, and sat at work today in child-like glee as I waited for work to be over. I watched the clock when I was at the gym, giving myself enough time to change and meet Jeff outside.

Andrew Bird's music is sultry and lustful at times, and can give you a giddy and cavalier feeling like the glass of wine that preludes a sumptuous meal that you've fasted for in anticipation of its arrival. It can be fun and endearing, and has the tendency to remind one that (at least) for the duration of the concert, you know you're exactly where you want to be.

It's not evangelical because Andrew Bird is keen on Jesus (because I'm pretty sure he's not) but the songs you hear are likely to evoke reactions and emotions you might not always express in polite company. Even I shouted the name of a song I wished that he'd play, and I never do that.

(Yes, he played it in his encore.) see "Why" on YouTube

I laughed, I cried... I bought the t-shirt.

...And I saw Andrew Bird.

* Bonus video action ahoy! (this one is pretty awesome too)

Jesus is Crackers

Happy Lenten, folks. I suppose I'm going to burn in hell for all eternity for implying that Jesus is crackers (nevermind that it's true) but we're going to hit up a fish fry tomorrow anyway. I wonder if the bread the fish with Jesus... 

We headed out to The Spot last night and saw a delightful band called Kiss Kiss. They've started to limit how many non-students can go, you actually have to be with a Case student now. Thankfully I can walk up to security, fake my best Captain Morgan pose and say "Why yes, I am dating a Case grad student!!" (I'd only do that in my mind). They were pretty fun to watch. At the end, they brought out a couple of cymbals and had random folks beat on them for a while. 

After that, we walked home and fell asleep. 

I didn't get to mention the other day that I had my first civilized meal in my own home since I've lived here. I have now been in Little Italy/Cleveland for six months and until last week, I didn't actually have a kitchen table. We ate on the floor (I didn't have a couch, either). I made sweet potato gnocchi (courtesy of Ohio City Pasta) with chicken and cream sauce. The sauce went a little something like this: 

1 c heavy cream

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Fleur de Sel

Cracked pink and black peppercorns

Ginger

Garlic

I didn't locate a recipe, I just thought of things that taste good with sweet potato and made it savory. Absolute heaven, let me tell you.

Our new addition with food all over it

The money (chicken money) shot

We're going to be visiting the West Side Market again soon, I hope. I've been eyeing the squid ink pasta at Ohio City Pasta and the pink sea salt next door. (The fleur de sel is amazing, though).

I have told a grand lie, loves. Kiss Kiss has grown on me since I started this post. Give 'em a listen.

Dear Blogger, please excuse my tardiness...

What a long, strange trip it's been.

Jeff and I haven't really been in Cleveland a whole lot lately. We were in Washington DC for a few days and then we visited Columbus for the annual St. Patrick's Day party at his parent's house. According to Jeff's Dad, he's had the celebration every year since 1978.

Anyway, here's some of what we saw:


The Smithsonian Castle



Inside the National Cathedral


A Peruvian Court Dress at the Kennedy Center


The gate into Chinatown



The Capitol Building

I have a lot more of our pictures on my Flickr page. Jeff also took a lot of pictures. Check them out if you have the chance.

After a wonderful bike ride when we arrived, Jeff took me to Kanlaya Thai Cuisine in Chinatown. The food was amazing! I had pineapple chicken that was actually in a hollowed out pineapple half. I had a couple of the cliche "umbrella drinks" and sloppily professed my undying love to Jeff - it was true but I'm sure anything I may have regretted saying could have been blamed on the alcohol - right? We spent the evening doing a crossword puzzle until I fell asleep.

The next morning we ate convenience store muffins and yogurt and headed out to the Metro and around DC. We walked around all day, and stopped back in Chinatown to eat at Tony Cheng's. This restaurant had Mongolian food on the first floor, and Chinese food on the second floor. We went upstairs and ended up having one of the best Chinese meals either of us had ever had. I ate the Kung Pao chicken with an egg roll, rice and hot and sour soup. My meal ended up costing about $13.00. (Amazing!!)

We considered visiting Madame Tussaud's wax museum but balked at the $19.95 admission fee. I settled for photographing Whoopi in the lobby and we moved on.


Whoopi Goldberg acting as a DC panhandler

In the late afternoon the sun disappeared and it got a bit colder. We visited the Lincoln Memorial and enjoyed a free concert at the Kennedy Center. After getting back to the hotel, we decided to check out a mexican restaurant and went to La Lomita Dos.

I wasn't as impressed as I have been with certain restaurants in Cleveland and Columbus.

Por ejemplo...

We ordered the "Chorizo con Queso" from the appetizer menu, only to find it was not chorizo...It was SMOKED SAUSAGE!! Yucky. The rest of the meal was good, but it took forever and a day to get the check. It was overpriced for generic mexican food, but there was a Mariachi band and that made things a little better.

On our last day, we visited the National Cathedral. This was one of my favorite sightseeing trips. My first few minutes in the cathedral were filled with quiet awe - I'm pretty sure that I stared with my mouth agape at times. Religious or not, there's an energy about that place.


This picture reminded me of Grace Cathedral Hill by The Decemberists.

And yes, I did pay 25 cents to light a little white candle! (The suggested donation was $1, shh)

On the way out of DC we had lunch at Satay Club where I had a very inexpensive and very filling lunch (General Tso's, hot and sour soup and potstickers) for $7.95. Yum!

It was an amazing trip, altogether. We found out a lot about ourselves and each other, we're stronger and (if possible) we love each other a whole lot more now. The first trip we took together was to DC, almost three years ago, so it was a little nostalgic too. We saw Ozma in DC at the 9:30 Club. I fell asleep during The Rentals set. Nothing against the band, I was just VERY tired. I had to tote around a cute guy with a broken arm, jeez...

I hereby vow to post a bunch more starting today. We went back to Columbus for a wedding last week and had a great time, but I sorely missed my city and have wanted to be home. I missed you, Cleveland (and your bloggers!)!

Oodle Doodle

Why does the first nice day of the year make us feel like kids?

I could have stood outside all afternoon today to watch the "adults" tunefully walking along as if bemused by happy memories of a first love. There was a man on the corner of 9th and Euclid playing a saxophone.

"B flat! B flat!!!" I wanted to say, as he slunk through a rendition of the Pink Panther theme. I kept my thoughts and timbre to myself and continued watching people go by.

I didn't want to go back. Not today. I wanted to ride today. At various points during my day, I considered feigning illness and tried very hard to think of a plausible one.

Ebola? No.
Food Poisoning? No.
A Cold? No.

Oh well. I made it. I survived the day, practically unscathed. I'm getting little bruises on my calves and shins from clumsily banging around the gym at work. I'm lucky to have a man who loves me, bruises and all. Aristocratic people in the Victorian era wore white makeup (hooray for lead poisoning) so they wouldn't appear sun-tanned as their hired help. Personally, I feel very honored to have my scrapes and scars. I earned them, and they all have their own stories.

(Coming soon, the story of the Lake Erie Bikeway curb romance!)

Tomorrow is a day for shopping and being outside whenever possible. The air is so heavy now, it seems to touch the asphalt and make everything smell wonderful. I wish that I could open up my windows, but I'm afraid to remove the plastic just yet. With a little cautious optimism, I just might do that tomorrow.

Music Suggestion of the day: A Northern Chorus
(They broke up, but one of my very favorite bands)

Egg Love

Egg Song

For my fellow bloggers to celebrate their love of eggs.

Bicycle! Bicycle!

You know those buttons at the crosswalks you press to activate the crosswalk? (For those of you not in Cleveland - ours talk...) I have the strongest desire to karate kick one to activate it.

Jeff and I are hitting up the West Side Market this weekend and going to India Garden again. Any ideas/recipes to make? We had such luck making this amazing lemon pasta with chicken and cream last time.

DC is next week and I feel like a kid getting ready to go on summer vacation. I don't even want to work tomorrow, but if I didn't I know that'd be a little obvious that I wasn't sick. I skipped on the gym tonight in hopes to go on an evening ride (I was going to attempt the Euclid Corridor) but someone has my floor pump and I have a flat. I have a 2008 Specialized Dolce road bike that is my baby. I won't ride it to work in the Spring/Summer since it would totally break my heart if it got stolen. I'm looking for a bike in the $50 to $100 range to get to and from work. It's not that I'll miss riding the HealthLine... Boy, do I have some stories about that bus.

Tonight, I am being a lazybutt and ordering pizza/soda because it just feels like one of those nights. Sorry Alexa... I wussed out on the anchovies this time. I was going for a sure thing.

Columbus has a neat little cycling group that rides on Sunday nights and they were really fun. It was all ladies, and we'd go for a short 15 mile ride through the city. It was a little less fanatical than Critical Mass (I just signed up for Critical Mass here, though) but we looked out for each other. It was a good time. I left the group really quickly, because I moved to Cleveland really quickly. That's a story for another post. I really miss riding my bike. I am so anxious for touring season (Coming soon!).