Dream with Our Eyes Open

So, yeah, I'm kind of forgetting how to LJ/DW. Like, that I should post things that might be of interest to my circle/friendlist.

lady_ganesh and her daughter came to visit me and The Mr. as part of a trip to tour the DC/Baltimore area. Mostly we showed off our town, [the People's Republic of] Takoma Park.

I had intended eating dinner in town as part of the total Tacky Park experience, but The Mr. wooed our visitors away from the hyper-local joints in favor of A & J, a favorite of his (and mine, too) up in Rockville, the county seat: about a 25-minute drive. This is a place that serves authentic northern Chines dim sum: lots of noodle dishes (including ones with wonderful housemade noodles) and none of the bready buns that most people associate with dim sum. They also (obviously) serve dim sum in the evening, unlike most places in the area.

It was a lovely visit.

After blowing off our accustomed gourmet New Year's Eve experience (for very good reason, I might add), the Mr. felt well enough to go to Kat & Andrew's New Year's Day brunch, another two-decades+ fixture in our lives.

I wanted to make something to bring, and the main thing we had in the house besides pantry staples was apples. Several different kinds of apples. I found this recipe on Epicurious, which recommends using at least 4 different types of apples, so I made it. But it was intended for an 8-inch springform pan, and we have only a 10-inch one.

In a moment of rare mathematical thought, I realized that this is a volume problem, and that the shape involved is a (short, squat) cylinder. I found a handy calculator via Google and discovered that the volume ratios were 1 to 1.5. Well! The original recipe calls for 2 eggs, so this was easy-peasy. I did find some additional adjustments needed (our eggs were likely extra large rather than just large, so I needed to add more flour, and I had to extend the baking time, which I did in 10-minute increments, checking the cake for done-ness each cycle), and I also added a bit of cinnamon, because I like cinnamon.

The apples I used were a mixture of Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gold Rush, and Gala.

The cake had competition at the brunch: this was a big year for homemade cakes. Those I could identify include a chocolate swiss cake roll as a buche de Noel, my late mother's sour cream coffee cake (made by my sister, in this case), what appeared to be a pumpkin bread with currants, and our hosts' daughter's blueberry tea cake. We left about 1/3 of our cake when we departed the party, but there was still a group of 10 college- and grad-school-age party-goers playing Cards Against Humanity in the front parlor, so we may never see the remaining cake again!

Ann Leckie took Best Novel for Ancillary Justice! Go Ann go!

Also, Julie Dillon won for best pro artist, and Kameron Hurley not only for her wonderful essay We Have Always Fought but also as best fan writer.

Complete list available on the official Hugo site.

My friend lawless523 has a question about Los Angeles. Maybe you have the answer?

Got this one from lawless523 and indelicateink.

Respond to this post (with something specific, like "Meme!" or "Pick me!") and I shall:

1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Associate you with a character/pairing.
6. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
7. Tell you my favorite userpic of yours.
8. Ask you to post this in your own journal.

Have at it!

Have just returned from back-to-back outdoor social events featuring mass quantities of food. Am covered with sweat, sunscreen, and (on my ankles) bug bites, and am much too well fed.

Party A featured mainly cold foods, including slices of sandwich wraps, salads, cold meats, and fruit, followed by ice cream and very nice lemon poundcake. Party B featured flame-grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, spicy pork ribs, veggie crudites, and potato and cucumber salads, followed by strawberry and peach shortcakes and smillaraaq's very evil chocolate brownies.

I am in a food-induced stupor.

Happy More Joy Day ... I hope this makes you all smile.

Um, I haven't been my best the past couple of days ... hope you had a great birthday!

I hope your day brings you plenty to celebrate!

Did you have a good weekend?