When I was growing up, I did a lot of baking and a lot of singing. These two interests of mine are not all that related, except that I’ve done a little more of both of them lately.
After baking some brownies with butterscotch chips at the Mu Kappa retreat, I was inspired to bake some more. I was too tired that Sunday after returning, but this past Saturday I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch. It didn’t take me as long as I expected, and there’s definitely a greater sense of accomplishment baking cookies from scratch rather than baking from a mix or store-bought dough. Also, freshly mixed cookie dough is amazing. Then on Sunday I baked some cupcakes to take on Tuesday to Five O’Clock Shadows practice for Tim’s birthday.
… which leads to part 2. We recorded 5 songs last Tuesday. This was the first time we recorded anything since I joined this summer, and the first time for the group in over 3 years. I’m not sure what our immediate plan is for the recordings, but they’ll need some editing to put the best parts together before I’ll see any of it. Ron was immensely helpful in setting up the recording session. He’s got some top of the line software and the church sanctuary is a great place to record. We had a couple mics to record us as a whole and one mic just for the bass (which was me for 3 songs). Listening to the recordings, the extra mic really helped the bass part resonate and actually makes me sound good. 
The five songs we recorded were:
- And So It Goes, Billy Joel
- Java Jive,
- In My Room, Beach Boys
- Little Deuce Coupe, Beach Boys
- Surfer Girl, Beach Boys
And now we’re starting to work on Christmas songs.
San Francisco’s cable cars are one of the world’s most famous modes of transportation:
When we were in San Francisco, we took a ride on a cable car, took some pictures of one of them (seen above), and waved at the people riding several more that passed us at different times as we were walking around the city. This particular picture is my favorite because it’s quintessentially San Francisco: the cable car is cresting one of the many hills with some excited passengers (probably tourists) leaning out to see what’s coming next.
Who’s up for an adventure?
Stewart seems to be ready to go anywhere, what with his knapsack, walking stick and pith helmet. Good luck on your adventure, Stewart!
Last night, Adrienne and I had the opportunity to play Agricola. Adam (who loves board games even more than I do) and his wife, Crystal, came over for a night of gaming. We started out playing “the train game” (TransAmerica)–which has become a staple for us because of its simplicity and how everyone likes it–until the pizza arrived.
But, on to Agricola because the real reason for this post is to review a game I’d never played before.
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I’m not sure why I’ve always had a sort of fascination with the United Nations building. Perhaps it’s the unique nature of its particular rectangular shape, or maybe I like glass buildings. I’m not really sure, but after seeing it in person it has lost some of its appeal to me. I think I had some idealized version of it i my head, void of all the dirt and grime it has accumulated over the years (something especially relevant for a building with a lot of glass). On a cloudy day, it looks even gloomier. I think I may also have been a bit disappointed that the different countries’ flags were not flying. On the contrary (and to avoid being all negative), I do recall finding it neat that it kind of stands out on its own being by the East River and away from the heart of Manhattan.
