Came across one of these bad boys the other day. Man, I fed a lot of bills into these growing up. I haven’t seen one in sooo long but yet I still remember every detail. Remember what it felt like to feed a $5 bill in there? A great day at the arcade indeed!
Someone entrusted me with a vintage leather bomber jacket that no longer fit them, so of course I graciously accepted it. I slipped it on for the first time as we headed out to Thanksgiving dinner, and every time I took a sip of my Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee in the car, I squeaked like a little balloon animal. My wife says that it’s a sign of a quality item, but even so, I don’t know if I can get used to this. It’s weirdly loud! Here’s audio of me drinking coffee while riding in the car (even my daughter thought it was funny)…
I’m thankful for being a dad, and moments like these. At this moment, nothing in the world matters except leaf crumpling. Do you remember when life was this simple?
I recently posted a rant about ugly fruit stickers. I just want to say, for the record, that I’m sorta OK with the rocket ship ones. Glad that someone cares…
Man, this candy house at Hershey’s Chocolate World puts my Sweet Tooth candy art to shame! Time to up the ante!
When we stopped in a craft store to pick up materials for my Doctor Who scarf project, my daughter found a cute unfinished wooden bird house. Now, my wife and I have been trying desperately to train my daughter against asking to buy something in every single store we step foot into, but this time, I caved. It would be such a perfect little craft project. Better yet, it was only a buck!
She was ecstatic when I told her that we could paint and decorate it, which is kind of funny because she was perfectly happy with it the way it came. When we got home, it was nap time, so she took it to bed with her. An hour later she trudged downstairs, bird house in hand, and with her own impressive bird’s nest on top of her head, and got right to work. She chose to paint it purple (thank you Crayola washable paints!), and once it was dry she squirted some glue on the roof, sprinkled on some glitter, and added a few pom-poms and stickers. It turned out to be a great impromptu craft project, especially for one dollar. After it was complete, we had to hang it up in our back yard, so a little birdie could move in. Still waiting on that little birdie.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and you’re still sitting on a pile of Halloween candy that is quickly going stale – what do you do? Art Project!
It actually all started back in October of 2011, when for the first time since I was a teenager, I began following monthly comics again. One of the side effects of being a dad is that it’s put me back in touch with my own inner child, and watching my kids grow up has made me nostalgic about my own childhood. Comic books were one of my major passions as a kid, and I’m lucky to still have my childhood comic book collection in my possession. I recently pulled out the ol’ comic book box to organize and properly store them so that they would still be around for my kids to inherit someday. Handling all those old issues was so fun and brought back such great memories, that after the project was finished, I ended up making a trek to the nearest comic book store, kids in tow, to start some new memories with little super guys of my own.
My childhood comic stash
One of my very favorite comics that I found this past year was Sweet Tooth, published by Vertigo and written by Jeff Lemire. I had picked it up on a suggestion from a comic book store employee who said that it was a good jumping on point. I immediately loved it, so I went back and read all the previous issues to get myself caught up. I think that Sweet Tooth resonated with me not just because of the great art, character writing, and story, but that I had something in common with Sweet Tooth. I, too, was a lonely child, often lonely, whose dad was also a religious man. I just wasn’t a human/animal hybrid. A small difference.
Not long after I got back into reading comics, I got my sights on attending the New York Comic Con (NYCC). I came up with the plan to familiarize myself with the comic industry so that I would know who was who at NYCC. One of the big differences that I’ve discovered about following comics as an adult versus a kid is that you start following the writers and artists just like you would follow your favorite childhood heroes. Sweet Tooth was my favorite book this year, and it’s no surprise that I also enjoyed reading some of Lemire’s other books, including Justice League Dark and Animal Man, and I’m looking forward to picking up his graphic novels, Essex County and The Underwater Welder. I was only able to attend NYCC for one day, but while there I was able to catch Jeff Lemire’s signing session. I asked him to sign my Mighty Wallet, because I had foolishly left my comics at home, and I ended up with a little Sweet Tooth of my own! It was a very cool way to put a cap on of my first full year following comics again.
Sweet Tooth will surely be the comic book I remember the most when I look back at this year’s experience of following comics again, not only because it was my favorite, but also since it is the only series that I’ll have read in its entirety this year. Plus, I actually got to briefly meet the creator. So where does the Halloween candy fit in? Well, Sweet Tooth’s story is sadly coming to an end, with the last issue hitting the newsstands in December. I was reflecting on all of this while staring at our massive pile of leftover Halloween candy when I had the idea to make this edible Sweet Tooth tribute. Candy would make a perfectly fitting medium, I thought, not to mention far easier for me to handle than an artist brush! We used Sweet Tarts, Twizzlers, Cow Tails, peanut butter cups, and caramels. Oh, and the Hershey bar (with almonds). My kids got to pitch in by helping unwrap the candy and squishing the caramels that were used to make the hair (yes, as you can imagine, that was indeed a sticky mess) and they even got to eat a little of the finished product. So there was my own short-lived homage to Sweet Tooth. Thank you Mr. Lemire for an incredible story, although one that’s not quite yet over, and for my own little personal Sweet Tooth to carry around with me!
Project materials – who knew Vanna had her own yarn line?
Our local library is a favorite weekly stomping ground of my family. My kids love to go to the children’s area to play with puzzles and games, and to pick out some books and movies. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad flip a coin over who is first to actually supervise this fiasco versus who gets first dibs to browse the rest of the library. My favorite area lately is new arrivals, because it’s a mishmash of all sorts of new books. This week I came across the book “Knits for Nerds,” by Toni Carr. It features 30 sci-fi, comic book, and fantasy projects. Even though I don’t knit, I thought it’d just be fun to flip through it at home, so I tossed it in our tote bag.
That night I paged through the book and enjoyed looking at all of the pictures of the various sci-fi, comic, and fantasy knitting projects. Then I came across the iconic Doctor Who scarf, and I thought, gee, that can’t be too hard to make, can it? Maybe I should just figure out this knitting thing and this can be my very first project. Then I can always level up to making all sorts of cool stuff for the kids! AND I’m in the midst of getting caught up with the new Doctor Who series (only half way there), so it surely must be fate telling me to get my knit on. Maybe I can unite the two hobbies and do my knitting while actually watching the Doctor Who series at the same time, only that would probably require some level of actual skill.
Now, I’ve sewed some buttons and patches here and there, but knitting!? I’ve never given it a moment’s thought. Until now. I called my only knitting resource I could think of, my mother-in-law, and picked her brain the best I could while simultaneously watching two screaming kids. According to her, scarves are considered “kids’ stuff” in the world of knitting projects (I don’t think she realizes the length of this particular scarf!), and it uses the garter stitch, which is also said to be easy for beginners. So now my mother-in-law is giddy as a school girl to teach me how to knit, and we are scheduling our knitting time during our time together at Thanksgiving, when conveniently, the whole family will also be around to promptly ridicule me. I can see it now…. “how ’bout an afghan to keep your legs warm,” and “can I get you some Werther’s Original Hard Candy?” between choruses of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. Yeah, wish me luck.
Every few years, I’ll bake a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. It’s not yet a tradition, but it may quickly become one. This year, I had the idea of baking one clearly in my sights, so when I stumbled upon a beautiful display of “baking” pumpkins this past weekend at my local farmer’s market, my interest piqued. Immediately, I imagined how awesome it would be to make my own pie from scratch with fresh pumpkins instead of the canned stuff. Not that I have anything against the canned stuff. I loved my previous pumpkin pies, but I’m sure I’ve never had fresh pumpkin pie from scratch, and I imagine few other people have. As soon as the canned stuff became available in grocery stores, that was probably the beginning of the end for fresh pumpkin pies. Add to that the convenience of premixed pumpkin pie spices, and it makes you wonder what did the old-school fresh pumpkin pies taste like? So, I inquired at the pumpkin stand, and the owner was not only pleasant, but contagiously excited about using fresh pumpkin. It makes sense, since she owns a pumpkin stand. She made roasting the pumpkins sound as easy as pie (you saw that one coming, right?), which was all that was needed to seal the deal. Her recommendation was to use a cheese pumpkin, and of course, I had to ask why it was called that (it’s because it looks like a wheel of cheese, duh). It’s a bit earlier than Thanksgiving, but waiting longer was not an option for my obsessive self. Now, please keep in mind that I am using a new recipe, have literally no real baking skills, and have never roasted a pumpkin before, so the odds are favoring disaster. Nevertheless, I must try.
Roasting the Pumpkin
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, removed the stem by carving it out with a knife (I had tried knocking it off with a rolling pin but it broke near the base – totally worth the try, though), sliced it horizontally, and placed it on a jelly roll pan to roast 90 minutes. Fortunately, I chose a pan with a lipped edge, because the pumpkin oozed a LOT of water. When we pulled it out of the oven, the outer skin gave under pressure just like it was supposed to, so we knew it was done roasting. We let it sit for approximately one half-hour (feel free to scald your fingertips every few minutes like I did if you are too impatient to wait). We used an ice cream scoop to remove the pumpkin, which worked out great because we didn’t have to fuss with removing the peel. Then we blended the fresh pumpkin until it was smooth, strained the excess water, and refrigerated the fresh pumpkin puree overnight so it would be ready to make the actual pie the next day.
On a side note, the pumpkin stand owner assured me that the puree freezes well, so I could have bought and roasted two pumpkins at the same time and froze one batch until Thanksgiving. I probably should have done that – oh well, another lesson learned.
Recipe
I chose a Cooks Illustrated Pumpkin Pie recipe for the filling and opted for a Pillsbury pre-made shell instead of making my own to save time. It was a tough call, because I originally wanted to make the pie entirely from scratch, but my available time for this was minimal and I can always upgrade to a homemade shell next time.
The pie filling was comprised of two cups pumpkin puree and one cup dark brown sugar, as well as the spices (ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and salt). I opted to use individual spices, but you can purchase premixed pie spices in one container to make it simple. Really, I don’t think it matters what recipe you use. Several recipes that I found list the fresh or canned pumpkin in equal amounts on the ingredient list, so I would just try your favorite recipe and swap out equal parts canned pumpkin with the fresh stuff.
Results
All in all, this ended up being a great baking project. Working with pumpkins is always fun and puts you into the spirit of the holidays. As a bonus, the whole house smelled great while the pumpkin was roasting, and then again when we baked the pie. My wife and I were very happy with the finished product. My picky kids wouldn’t touch it, and I forgot to get cool whip, so it was a lost cause. The pie was much lighter and fluffier than those made using canned pie recipes, which seem awfully heavy in comparison. The ready-to-go pie shell tasted great which will surely dampen motivation to make my own on future attempts. All things considered, I would declare my fresh pumpkin pie project a success! Sure, roasting, blending, and straining the pumpkin is time consuming compared to the convenience of using canned, so in a pinch, the latter would be a better option. However, if you do have the time, give fresh pumpkin a try. We’re happy converts with a new Thanksgiving family tradition.
Piping Hot Pumpkin Pie
I first noticed this fine workmanship about two years ago when I began my daily walks. It hasn’t changed since, so I don’t think it’s a temporary fix!
Secret Dad Society 