Babies & Technology

On Sunday, Thing 2 was playing with my phone and did a number of adorable, hilarious things. He:

1. placed a call to the number 1 (which seems very Sesame Street to me).
2. saved a contact called "A," whose number is, apparently, "5252."
3. placed a call to my friend J. (on the Cape) and talked to him for a minute and 23 seconds.
   

I got proof of the third when I noticed J.'s number in my dialed calls list & called him to see if that had indeed happened. He said he picked up & heard a baby voice on the other end. He got a real kick out of it, as did Thing 2's auntie!

Hooray for Not Making Sense!

Love this. From the web comic Little Dee.

What I did at work last week

This, right here, people, is one of the reasons why I do what I do. Last Wednesday, while respectable people were working away at their jobs from 9-5, I was learning how to make Indian slapjacks on an open hearth at Strawbery Banke! I took some photos, though, so you can follow along at home. :)

Here we have the mixin's: equal parts wheat flour and corn meal (where the "Indian" in the title comes from, as that was the 18th century nickname for corn meal), two eggs, a cup & a half of milk, and a pinch or so of salt. We also have my Dunkin' Donuts coffee, poured into that brown ceramic mug to look more "period."

The mixin's, all mixed up. The consistency is something like pancake batter.

First slapjack on the "spider," a frying pan with legs so you can place burning coals underneath it. Actually, I think this is the third or fourth slapjack - the first one didn't look nearly this good!

And the finished product. These slapjacks were a bit bigger than the normal size, but on the whole, I was pretty happy with my first hearth cooking project! Stay tuned for more. :)

(Cross-posted on Museophilia)

Salute the Admiral, Sailor!

Riffing off yesterday's post . . . "Your steampunk name is ... Admiral Nettie Fielding."

I like it. Get your own steampunk name.

It's a Steampunking!

Haha, I love this. From Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre.

And for those who aren't sure what "steampunk" is . . .

Spring!

On Monday, The Boy, our roommate (who needs a nickname), and I were passing a few huge lilac bushes on campus. I turned to the boys & said, "This time of year just makes me feel like a Disney princess. I want to run around singing to birds or something."

And . . . Scene

As of 5:10 pm tonight, I was officially done with school. Done. with. School.*

:)


*As always, the caveat is "barring my PhD someday."

My New Favorite '80s Song

For some reason, the You Tube owner (which might actually be Universal Music Studio) won't let me embed the video, but go see the video for The Jam's "Town Called Malice."

If you like early '80s New Wave, you won't be disappointed!

Break Out the Bubbly!

Or the lone beer @ the back of the fridge, which is what I did! Anyway, we're celebrating my successful thesis defense, so drink 'em if you've got 'em. :)

I still have a 15-page paper due Tuesday for my Beowulf class, but I've cleared the most important hurdle of this spring and successfully presented/defended my thesis project! It's such a relief to know that I just need to turn in something readable* & then I'm free.

Free as a little bird! Um . . . you'll have to excuse me - I'm just a little excited.


*The paper is on the material world of the poem, specifically its halls. As I said to The Boy earlier, as long as I don't turn in a piece of paper with a crayon picture of a medieval hall and the words "Thiz is whur Bewulf livd," we should be all set.

Final Finals (probably)

Hello, hello! I know I haven't posted much in the last week - just once so far in the merry, merry month of May. However, I'm in the midst of the final finals I'll ever have to do (assuming I don't go on to my PhD at some point). I have a final presentation for a class tomorrow night, I present my master's project to my committee on Friday (!), and I have a 15-page paper due a week from today.

Then, it's a summer filled with Red Sox, beer, and the knowledge that I don't have to do homework ever again!*




*Again, barring the pursuit of a further degree. ;)

Crying at the Drop of a Hat

Which I guess is something like crying over spilled milk. Anyway, I was in a highly sensitive emotional state this week, otherwise known as having my period. Over the course of the week, here are two obscure things that brought tears to my eyes:

1. The Pemberton Mill disaster of 1860
2. The lyrics to "Yankee Bayonet" by The Decemberists
3. UPDATE: The ending of Gangs of New York (not for the first time)
   

Perhaps it's just a lethal combination to be both a menstrual crier & a historian? ;)