School of Origami Fish

Just a quick post on the weekend projects.    Lots and Lots of origami fish.   I have been working on a catfish that has showed promise.   But I’ll have to play with it more to get it display worthy.  In the mean time, I just listed a bunch of “experiments’ that I have been playing with over the last few months.  Mostly small fish originally for an order that never materialized.   So….with a little luck….someone on Etsy will have the fortune to cash in on a stock of fish for half price.  we shall see how it goes.  In the mean time..enjoy the pics! 

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Adventures with Cheryl ( and Ethan) : The Beer Float

  Well,  Technically this was all Cheryl's Idea.  My only contribution was that I failed to oppose it.  Cheryl liked the Three Philosophers so much, she put forth the Idea that we should make a float out of it with a “really good Ice cream!”   I like beer….I like Ice Cream.   What could possibly go wrong?

Well,  First….Really good Ice cream in Cheryl’s book is Gelato.  And not just vanilla…Oh no!   It has to be Caramel Sea Salt.  This is where a few problems come in.   The Caramel Sea Salt Gelato has “Chunks” in it.   Little chocolate covered caramel bits that have a nice semi sweet salty taste.  ( sounds pretty good….if you plan on not making a float of any kind)

In case you fail to see the logical problem with this.   I’ll reveal a little spoiler:   Chocolate covered Caramels do NOT dissolve in beer….Let alone ANY liquid. Your Smooth creamy taste is going to be interrupted with “texture” .   Again…..Texture is fine…in say:  A sundae.   But not in a float.

Then there is the Chemical reaction that occurs when you pour beer over ice cream.   I’m not sure what processes are going on..but it does this to the foam.  At first I didn’t think it looked that bad.   The Dark Brown color gave it a rich caramel look…..However….if you look at it from another angle.  It looks like  a bubbling brew of toxic waste.

 

Still need help?  Let’s change the color a bit.

Then there is the flavor.   Despite the texture,  I actually did not think the flavor was that bad.   Sure,  I would most likely no seek it out again.    But it was at least palatable.  I have eaten Worse things before.   I do not, however, like to be reminded of those events.    Cheryl on the other hand, was not so forgiving.  She ended up giving my the remainder of her float and noted that she though the “Two Great Tastes…..do not always Taste Great Together.” In this case,  it would appear that the two great testes cancel each other out. 

ACT Finale! With Hummingbirds....

Let's start with the good news first:  I finally was able to capture my own hummingbird pictures!   They are remarkably friendly!   Or Hungry.....Not sure which.    It has been warm in the evenings and even though the mornings are cold, the hummers still are hanging on.   I recently filled up the feeder with perhaps my sweetest concoction of sugar water yet.   Chemically speaking, I'm not sure just how far I can go before the sugar will crystalize at room temperature.  Anyway,  the hummers seem to love it and continue to visit and swarm the feeder into the setting sun hours of the day.

I guess they are Ruby Throats.   Judging from the small red dot on one of the hummers neck.   I'm still fairly certain that I had a Black Chinned hummingbird visit earlier this summer....but I'm not 100% sure.   Even Ruby throated hummingbirds can appear to have a black throat if the angle of the sun is just right.    In the end,  it doesn't matter.   I still like the Ruby throats all the same.

I shall enjoy the show while it lasts.....In the mean time:

  ACT is going the way of the Dodo.  That is to say....( for clarity)  That the scoring section of ACT is going extinct.   Today was our last day. 

They ended the project early and told us that Friday was the end of things.   Also,  they are laying off all of the senior staff there that runs the projects.  We have been skeptical for a while whether we would ever get hired again.   We were lucky to nab onto this one!   But now....our doubts have been confirmed.   ACT will stick to the college tests and probably GMAT.  ( the ones that continue to make money..I guess) but the 'dipping of the toe' into the High school waters has appeared to prove too cold for the exec's.   It's all good.   We were ready to move on anyway.   It's sad to see some of the folks that we have grown fold of over the last several years lose their source of income.  But I'm sure many of them ( Even Cheryl and I) have been down this road before and I'm sure they will pull through to greener pastures.  Time will tell.  

In the mean time.  Enjoy ths supper short video of the hummers.  I was able to get pretty close to them!  Maybe they will eventually sit on my hand and sip nectar our of my palm.  Wouldn't that be cool! 

Hummingbirds, Whooping Cranes, And a revisit to the Three philosophers.

      It’s getting cold here in Iowa….and the Migration is on!   Last week,  Cheryl and I witnessed migrating Whooping Cranes over Iowa City during the Saturday Farmers Market.  We had to look them up because I was not sure what they were at first.   You see…it was bright, chilly, and the sky was the most Brilliant of Sapphire Blue.  These birds were strikingly white and black.   I have seen plenty of Sand Hill Cranes and Blue Herons.  Egrets live further south and are completely white.   But never there black wing tips.  It was funny..because we have a mobile with whooping cranes in our very living room.  Anyway,   the online search shows how they differ from other birds  ( like the Japanese version)  They were quite the site to see.  And most people never noticed then because they were VERY high in the sky.  Lucky us!

 

 

  And then there are the hummingbirds.  I think the parent birds are gone and the “kids” remain fighting over the feeder.   As mentioned before.  the weather has become chilly as of last week and I’m sure it will not be long before they had better pull up stakes and head for warmer climate as well.   But in the mean time.  They have been fighting and swarming the feeder like fighter jets.  They dogfight all day long until just before nightfall.   And then all three will call a truce and sit on the feeder together to tank up for the night.  I have been enjoying the fun for several days now.  I love my feeder getting so much activity.   I’m a little concerned that my “potent brew” might be causing them to hang out longer than they should.   I would hate for them to get stranded here when the killing frost its.  Ah well….I’m sure Mother nature has programmed into them somewhere when they should call it a day and head on out.  As for now…I’ll continue to enjoy the display. 

 

  And finally,   Cheryl and I revisited the Three Philosophers.  My first impression was smoky sweet.   Cheryl’s was Dried apricots.   I could taste the apricots after she had mentioned them….but I think Abby Ale is still my favorite.  Still.   It is a good beer and has quite the spectrum of flavors packed in.  ( more than just smoky apricots)  Cheryl thinks it would taste really good with a dark chocolate ice cream.   I’m not sure how any beer would taste with Ice Cream…but recently….with the various pumpkin ales and honey Weiss, I’m sure that it may be possible.   If that experience ever happens…I’m sure I will have to blog about it.  

Origami Anyone?

  What is there to blog about other than origami anyway?  I mean,  this was called the midnight carver once because all I ever did was carve wood.  Now I fold paper.   And my life is rather boring on a daily basis.

We have started another project for ACT recently and this one is cool!   Easy to score and the prompts fly by.  We get to work with all the cool people in our peer group and the trainings are interesting.  However…..sales are beginning to pick up and coming hoe zapped every night is beginning to strain our happy sales.   It’s a curious thing because we like working at ACT and we hear the work is slowly drying up so we should try to gather as much ACT as we can in the remaining time.   However…Stockings have always been priority when it comes to this time of year.   Similar to the Iowa Harvest I guess.

With that being said,  we have to make decisions on whether we wish to take another project following this one.   We shall see when the time presents itself.  In the mean time…enjoy the origami…

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Random Origami Week

 

 

Just a quick post as I have not written much this last month.   I guess I should show off some of the latest origami.   Nothing ground breaking.  Just more of the same.  But  I love pictures and before I erase them I thought I would catalog the on the blog.   Enjoy!

 

  

 

 

 

 

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Chocolate Indulgence. Beer….

  Another Ommegang flavor Cheryl and I had to try.   I’m not sure when it happened..But I now find dark beers palatable.  In fact,  I’ve even begun to appreciate the various flavors they offer and actually enjoy them.   This one has a rich malty taste that could be thought of as Chocolate.  pair it with some Brie and crackers and it ranks as high as any wine….or beer.   I still like the Abby Ale better..but that does not mean this one is not a contender. 

 

 

On a good day  when you want a dessert beverage,  This could fit the bill nicely   So….If you find yourself looking for something new to try for a romantic night with chocolate covered strawberries and some beverage that matches……Why not give this one a try.   You will enjoy the pairing. 

Beer Sampling With Cheryl and Ethan

So, in our quest to try new things,  We found several beers to sample the other night and I thought I should try to blog about them…as I seem to have been lacking material for the blog lately. 

 

First beer…..The SOUR BEER.   And boy is it sour!   Ok  First thoughts.   Hard Apple Cider with Champagne bubbles.   The sour was almost on par with drinking vinegar!  At the very least it was palatable.  It might go well with food and from what I gather..that is pretty much its purpose.   The sour notes bring out the flavors in Brie and Fruit. We will have to see…however,  With so many  other beers,  better tasting beers,  and Less expensive beers out there….I’m willing to put that off for a while.

 

Second beer.   Ommegang!   Scythe and sickle…..Think wheat beer..   The taste was a blessing after the sour ale.  Think of a dry goods store with raw dry wheat grain.   Got it?   Now  take a deep breathe and try to find the dry hint of the grain smell.   Now put that on your tongue with a hint of fermented bread dough.  It is a full body beer and scored high in its class.   You will enjoy this one. trust me!

 

  Last beer:   Wooden Nickel.   A local brew from Iowa.   This is a very cool beer in that it is brewed with German tradition and no added flavors.  Just yeast, barley sugar and hops.   And yet…This beer has a smoky maple taste.   Cheryl is now convinced we have to drink this with Pancakes or Waffles.  It went well with BLT’s this afternoon. It is the only beer we went out and purchased more of for further exploration.   The first things that went though my mind when drinking this was smoked jerky.  ( That is a compliment!)  Just a soft breezy note floating on your taste buds as you drink it.   No chewing,  No tearing, just sip after sip of that delicate smoky sweet  flavor .   I would recommend it to anyone wanting to try a interesting beer

And there you have it.   Beer night with three beers….We have a few others that are waiting in the fridge for sampling.   One beer I guess has a cult following that makes it rather rare.  We were “lucky” to get our hands on it.  I say “lucky” because either we will love it and want it again, only to never find it….Or it will be terrible and we will wonder what all the hoopla was about.   We shall see.  In the mean time   Some more Origami that I have been working on for the shop.  Enjoy!

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Oh! Origami Where Art Thou?

An entire week and my origami shop is almost empty!   I have to get folding!  But I have been languishing on a certain project for several days and am about to abandon it.   Spirals…….Oh  how I loath them.  They fascinate me.  They infuriate me.  This is why I fold animals after all.   And even then,  when all of my folding energy has been zapped by the spirals,  do I fail to fold as I wish.  

 

But somehow I managed to fold a few things.   Here are some of the finished items.

I also have been folding a few other things to fill in the vacancies of the shop   Enjoy!