Post-Potter Depression

After camp ended, a group of staff went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. Mariah found wands for us to carry in and we set off in a slightly sleep deprived caravan to see the end to a 13 year journey. I was excited to see it but also dreading it a little bit because now the magic is over. I am a rational adult and can comprehend that the Harry Potter phenomenon is fictional, re-readable, and accessible in a variety of mediums at any given moment. However, I felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends; friends that helped me suspend reality, friends that I had laughed with, friends that I had cried with, friends that I had shared adventures with, friends that I had grown up with.

Entering the movie, I felt weary about one more emotionally draining event…when the Warner Brother’s logo appeared after the trailers I was more melancholy than anything else. The entire beginning was me saying silently, “No, no, no, no, no, no” because knowing the outcome already made the inevitable dreadful. Basically from when Fred and George were on the roof and shared what I knew to be their last moment together (spoiler alert for those of you who do not live on planet Earth) until long after the credits rolled I cried like a small child without regard to social norms. I’m pretty sure I sobbed during Snape’s memories in the pensieve. Cure you, unrequited love! When Dumbledore asked “After all this time?” and Snape answered, “Always”, I remembered that Harry is far from the greatest hero in these books. For Snape to care for Harry, not always in the most loving way, even though he was James Potter’s son is a love of the highest order. The author does a profound job of portraying people as they are; good, bad, selfish, selfless, loving, jealous, angry, exuberant, humble, arrogant, brave, and cowardly. Sometimes all of these things at the same time.

After the credits, we all sat in stunned silence. We made our way out to the lobby in a depressed haze and it only took a moment to realize that all of us had been weeping…maybe we weren’t mourning the loss of the book series as much as mourning the loss of something indefinably special; a time in our lives, a framework for figuring out our world, a decade of change and growth. Maybe that indefinable something that we felt the loss of is what makes the Harry Potter books so wonderful. J.K. Rowling taught a generation how to grow up; how to trust in friends, value love, fight against oppression, stand up for those weaker than ourselves, do good, believe the best about others and that those we love never really are gone. As mad as I was that J.K. kept offing the characters that I loved the most, maybe she was helping us understand a valuable lesson about life—that it is fleeting, but love and hope remain. Maybe Harry Potter gave us back a little of the magic that gets lost in the everyday. Maybe it gave us a chance to see ourselves in the roles of hero, friend, and adventurer. Maybe it taught us that who we are is based upon what we do, not what we have. Maybe it showed us the worth of friends who will never abandon us and how to forgive those who come back after abandoning us. Maybe it taught us that courage is not being afraid but rather doing what is right even when we are afraid. Maybe it was just a story well told. Whatever it is, thank you for a great 13 years, it’s been one heck of an adventure.

One died for power.

One died for unrequited love

One greeted death like an old friend

Crack...yes it's that addictive.

In this post, I will divulge the secrets to both being a popular host and ensuring invitations are extended to you again. The trick to succeeding in these things….bring Crack! What is Crack? No, not crack cocaine, but you should probably specify that in your recipe searches on Google so that the DEA doesn’t show up at your door asking about recent Claritin purchases. This special is recipe is called more formally “Christmas Crack” but its street name is Crack. Essentially it is called this because of its highly addictive nature and that it can be made from common household ingredients. Oh yeah, and you crack it before you eat it…but mostly the first two.

I learned of this amazing recipe from the kindergarten team where I work. I lovingly call it Kinder Crack…because in my opinion anyone who is teaching kinder is probably on crack…or should be.

You will need the following things,

-pot (cooking, in case that needs to be clarified), cookie sheet with edges, spatula, stove top, aluminum, cooking spray, other cooking accoutrements

-saltine crackers

-brown suga’ and butta’

-chocolate chips

-vanilla to taste

-sea salt, if you are feeling pretentious

-toppings (aka, whatever you have in the cupboard)

When cooking, I rarely measure things but for you type A personalities here it is (with picture support for you visual learners too):

Cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil. Spray foil with Pam or some off-brand cooking spray. Spread a layer of saltine crackers on aluminum foil. The amount of space between the Saltines is up to you. I covered the whole thing but I suppose that it would be as good or better if there were nooks and crannies to fill up with goo. Put that off to the side carefully, otherwise you will be rearranging rows of crackers. Preheat oven to 400.

A mostly filled cookie sheet.

In a pot, melt 1 cup of butter. Once melted stir in ¾ cup of brown sugar. I used 1 cup but only because I couldn’t find the ¾ cup measure at the time. Bring to a boil. Boil for exactly 3 minutes, just kidding boil for as close to three minutes as you can. Take off heat and add about 1tsp of vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.

You know it will be good when there is this much butter involved.

Stirring, stirring, stirring.

Pour sugar goo over saltines. Use a spatula to spread out over all the crackers.

Thanks to my assistant, Catherine for taking this picture.

Stress level: High! It cools quick so spreading and giving artistic direction to Catherine was tricky.

Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the goo is bubbly and clear. If it is dark around the corners then it is getting burned. Take it out and let it sit for a few minutes to firm up. Spread chocolate chips over the caramelized sugar goo. You can spread them with a spatula or just leave them as little chunks of chocolatey goodness.

If you wanted to leave it like this you could.

Clearly I used my spatula to spread chocolate chips around.

Then I distributed mini-mallows and walnuts on the top. This is where your creativity can lead your cooking…or really whatever you have left over in the pantry. Some toppings might be: peppermint pieces, granola, coconut, any type of nut, various types of chocolate, sprinkles, red hots (I’m just getting started). You could also use different types of crackers; graham, animal crackers, pretzel crisps, ritz, or matzo! Just go wild!

We happened to have a few marshmallows and some walnuts.

After it is done cooling, use the fridge if you need it too cool faster or it's warm in your house. "Crack" it into smallish pieces and enjoy!

iPhone is a little blurry but this is a picture of the crack being cracked.

A few minutes after putting the bulk of it in the fridge and some quality control.

Who am I kidding...this is really what it looked like when we were done.

Summertime Fun

I was looking through my pictures today while making then end of year slideshow and I found some favorites from around San Diego...mostly the zoo.

A little polar bear, surprisingly in the water...that never seems to happen.

A seal on the beach with that come hither stare.

He's chewing but he's also saying, "Hey, I'm ridiculously adorable and I know it"
And yes, yes I am projecting human emotions on animals...how can you not with something this delightful.

Crazy Koi going wild for some food.

A dragonfly on a peach tree.

My favorite primate's little hand. I love me some orangutans.

My favorite orangutan, Clyde, wasn't visible this day, but this guy is a close second.
Soon after this he started launching lettuce into a crowd of children which amused me, startled them, freaked out some parents.

Moo to you too.

A few little peacock feathers.

Giraffe!

Sometimes I go back to the black and white. Sometimes, on purpose. Sometimes because I bump my settings by accident and a happy surprise is waiting for me.

I forgot what this guy was called...probably something like a Great White Hymalaian Climbing Yak. I just call him cute.

This little guy has a funny story. We were working in the garden and Catherine found a chrysalis on the bottom of a cauliflower leaf. Since my class is studying butterflies we thought it would be a great idea to take it in to school and see what it became. I took the leaf and chrysalis inside and then promptly forgot about it over the weekend. When I found it, there was a leaf, a empty chrysalis and no butterfly/moth to be found. Two days later, I saw it on the window of our kitchen. We trapped it in a cup and took it outside. It however, had different ideas about where it wanted to be. I am the butterfly whisperer apparently.

I'm not too sure why this is funny, but hopefully it makes your day. Because at the end of the day, things could be worse...you could be covered in ocelot pee.

While finding these pictures I found some others that I liked and forgot about. Hopefully with the school year coming to an end I will update a little more often.

A Just, Verdant, and Peaceful Life

Spring is here and the plants are growing, growing, growing! In March, Catherine and I expanded our garden to 6 raised beds instead of two. We also moved a bunch of things around so they would be better set for the long term. Now the beds are established and the vegetables are big enough to harvest. We have a variety of things like onions, artichokes, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, soybeans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins, watermelons, squash, cucumbers, peppers, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pineapples, eggplants, and chives. We also have a variety of herbs, mint, and flowers. Below are some of the pictures from around our house...mostly of the garden.

Yellow ranuncluas in the flower bed.

Purple ranunculas in the garden.

Marguarite daisies by the mailbox.

A little baby cauliflower.

The snap peas on the trellis.

Some huge green onions. We might have left these in the ground a little too long.

The iceplant growing over the shovel.

A funny red pepper plant...it looks like a fist.

Sunflowers as tall as the sky.

Strawberries in the cutest little strawberry planter.

The pumpkin and squash with the sunflowers in the background.

A new pumpkin on it's way to greatness!

The pumpkin is taking over the world! Catherine doing work as I mess around with a camera, as per usual.

A squash in the beginning stages.

The corn that is being smothered by the sunflowers.

The cherry tomatoes that are green...I ate all the red ones right before I took this picture.

The cauliflower that was getting out of control. We pulled it out, it was a whole lot bigger than the 4 plants we put in.

A campfire that started off quite large and impressive. It was not nearly as impressive as it looks in this picture.

The sunflowers are much taller than Catherine.

It's fun to come home and harvest dinner. This cucumber, tomato, and the peas became an excellent pasta salad. The dahlia bloom dressed up the kitchen from ordinary to garden chic in a second :) The veggies are not miniature, the dahlia blossom is as big as my head. Also, the cucumber is hard to see in the poor light, but it was delicious!

The Casa del Fuego is so verdant that even our carpet is growing things. Damn Bermuda grass.

Update on the Froglets

Here is a very short update on the frogs from a previous post.

Look at his sweet little tail and his dark "spectacle" markings! Love him.

This one is kind of "Leo the Late Bloomer". He's special.

The Professor (with spectacles) is so much bigger than Leo.

One more picture...a little distorted but cute, cute, cute!

The baby snails. I love their little feelers.

My eraser after the CST vs. Esperanza's eraser after the CST.
Guess who had more erasing to do!

I love this picture. We did some bubble painting in my class. I was cleaning up and was inspired by the vividness of the the paint cups.