new mexico 2013, day one

leff and i have been craving sunlight. all the d vitamin supplements and light therapy in the world cannot replace full on blistering sun. (and, no, the very brief, watery, indirect light here in fish armpit village does not count.) so we headed to new mexico where the people are friendly, the skies are wide and the temperatures are as hot as the green chilies that people eat on everything.

on the way to the ferry, we found waldo's hat.

we were based out of albuquerque on this trip. their airport is called a "sunport". i am not kidding.

"sunport/airport" had to be printed on all road signs. i'm assuming this is because everyone who does not use this airport was always asking "the fuck is a sunport?" 'cause really. the fuck is a sunport?

we stayed at the hotel parq central which i can recommend with the slight caveat that it is a popular place for proms and weddings. however, these loud things are over by 10pm so it is not that big of a deal provided that you turn the volume up on your tv.

our first night in new mexico was spent rambling around in our rental car. in case you're new here, leff and i don't drive/own a car in real life so driving was kind of a novelty. we drove through old town

to our TRUE destination, blake's lotaburger!

leff lived in new mexico for about four years and he has wistfully sighed about lotaburger since leaving. i can now understand why he was so fond of the place.

i mean, green chili cheeseburger. GREEN CHILI CHEESEBURGER

suitably fueled, we hopped back in the car for more of the aimless business. but when i saw the natural history museum, i knew that we had to stop. i'd seen dinosaur sculptures on the city of albuquerque's public art flickr page when i was doing cursory research.

i mean, leff needed to take this picture, right? he totally did, hush.

a critical mass biked past while when we were leaving. they thanked us because leff let them go through the red light.

because of the bikes, we weaved through back roads instead of taking the main road to sandia peak. it was really nice partially because the streets weren't jammed with shitty pnw drivers.

sandia peak is kinda' weird. do the businesses there exist for skiers? hikers? it didn't really feel like it was for anyone in particular. also, the fire danger was high.

we did not take the tram.

but we did go to the ski museum? ????  because that is what i primarily think of when i think of new mexico. skiing.

the view was really nice, however. and there was also a bike gang so everything felt kind of "rebel without a cause"/"wild ones" even though they had those shit choppers and not the vintage style bikes that i am partial to. (i like indians and not harleys. so what?)

tomorrow:  road tripping begins in earnest. soccoro and new mexico tech! EL CAMINO! THE VLA!! EL MALPAIS!! we end up in the doghouse. check back!

snooping around for travel posts?

harriet the spy lantern, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

hang in there, they're coming soon.

i am mary sunshine

ramona lantern, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

because i am OUT OF HERE for a short trip today!

many thanks to k for watching the cats and the house! updates will be available starting on monday if i am not too tired.

where are we going? YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT TO FIND OUT

birthday beer has been bottled!

birthday beer, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

leff managed to get the rakka beer bottled last night.there is a TON of this stuff which, honestly, FANTASTIC because maybe i will be blotto enough to forget that i have gotten older.

beer just has to hang out in the basement until my birthday. woo and etc!!

that "mame" banquet quote goes *here*

mame lantern, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

good news, travel post fans! leff and i are going on a short mystery weekend trip. (it is a mystery where we are going, we are not doing one of those "whodunnit" cruises or whatever.)

travel posts should start on monday of next week. we are probably going to bottle beer before we jump on the plane. OH YES ALSO A PRIVATE CAR TO THE AIRPORT which is why i used the mame lantern to illustrate this because, my goodness, how fucking posh. how fucking out of character.

VICTORY!!

VICTORY, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

it is amazing what you can do with the correct drill bit.

just a reminder: this bottle was obtained legally and delivered to my house with bottlelox still on the bottle. frustrating, for sure. especially since i didn't have a metal drill bit. but, whatever, THIS BITCH IS MINE NOW. #SHOTSSHOTSSHOTSSHOTS erm, sorry.

tana french candle

in the woods, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

today's candle is the cover of in the woods.

if you haven't read any of tana french's books, i envy you as you will be able to experience them for the first time.

no, i don't need to sleep,

don't tell me that clowns aren't creepy, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

so you're watching the original "sleuth", right? the one where michael caine is the young guy and not the old guy? HAHAH GUESS WHAT there is a clown outside the window.

this might be worse than bob.

hop pellets

hop pellets, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

these hop pellets resemble gerbil food, non?

they disappeared when we put them in the liquid. here it is being all boily and shit.

we have started brewing rakka beer!

leff waits on the water to boil, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

here is leff proving that a watched pot eventually boils no matter what anyone says.

the pickle is ready!!

homemade branston pickle!, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

and it is FUCKING DELICIOUS! here is the recipe that we used.

make this. you can eat it by the spoonful. without cheese even! and, unlike packaged branston, you can taste individual elements.

i am probably going to have a jar of this for breakfast. no, i'm kidding. OR AM I

penguin stencils

hello, penguins!, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

it's not quite the birth of venus but it's still pretty cool to see stencils being popped out.

"popped out" being the technical term, you understand.

here is a horse

black stallion lantern, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

go on. look at it. imagine how soft its nose would be if it were real. and how happy it would be if you fed it an apple. or maybe a carrot. or a handful of oats.

yeah, i really have nothing today. sorry.

you fucking have to work to get booze in this goddamned state

you fucking have to work to get booze in this goddamned state, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

i mean, COME ON.

bottle obtained legally. it was delivered with the bottlelox in place. delivery driver gave me the wrong receipt so i could not take it to the nearest store and scream FUCKING OPEN THIS

so now i wait on the drill to charge. grrr and etc

i will have homemade pimms by tomorrow afternoon!

things needed to make pimms, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

here's the recipe that i used.

"why make homemade pimms?" you might ask. and i will answer "holy shit, do you not know how much of this stuff that i drink?! i need a more cost effective way of obtaining it. this is cheaper."

seriously. i would drink pimms by the gallon if i could. it makes the seattle area tolerable.

update on pimms tomorrow afternoon. it will be ready at the same time as our homemade branston pickle! I CANNOT WAIT

h.o.u.n.d.

baskervilles candle, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

while i won't be posting every birthday candle i'm making, i will be shoving a few on this blog. here's the second dog in this series, the hound of the baskervilles.

now i'm going to try to get some sleep. i have forgotten what it's like to not be awake all the time. :/

for maggie

eat the rich cookies, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

yesterday i made "eat the rich bitch" cookies.

maggie t cookies are lemon flavored so they are just as sour as thatcher herself. to be drunk with AS MUCH MILK AS POSSIBLE.

the start of "40 candles"

snowy candle, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

40 days from now, i'm turning 40. i could moan about this (i am in private, don't worry) but instead i am making myself birthday candles. 40 of them. all book related.

follow along with the daily posts in the flickr set, if that is something you are into. cumulatively, this is going to be something. i mean, 40 of anything is fairly impressive.

unless it is years and then it's just depressing. :/

i'm getting my own beer for my birthday!

beer bottles, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

after researching real ales and brewing techniques, leff has come up with one of the greatest ideas ever. he's making me a porter for my birthday! (i've never had my own beer named after me before so this is exciting!)

the boxes full of bottles arrived today! yes, they are plastic. they are also LITER SIZE.

i am going to drink so much of this on d day, er, i mean, my bday.

squatter goulash

paprika for squatter goulash, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

i cannot be the only person making a version of betty's squatter goulash for dinner tonight.

sadly, mine will not be quite as authentic as my paprika was not stolen and then shoved in someone's asscrack but you work with what you've got.

blargh

cute monster, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

things are completely washed out this weekend. again. remind me why am i not living in ecuador?

anyway, peel up there is absolutely fine with watching the diana rigg era "avengers" today. it's her favorite show, after all.

vacation! so soon!

plum blossom, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

these incredibly brief interludes of nice weather are making me even more anxious for our upcoming trip to a place with copious sun and lack of humidity.

bascially, sunburn? we have a date. and i cannot wait.

evil dead letter

evil dead letter, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

for an upcoming show in new mexico. i'll give you more info about it closer to the date.

canned pickle

homemade branston pickle, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

we have finished canning the pickle. now we only have to wait two weeks and we can have a proper cheese and pickle sandwich.

pickle day

we are making pickle, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

when some people are sick, they rest and watch television. not so around here. no, we make pickle. branston pickle, to be precise.

this is a new occurrence, btw. i have a feeling that i am going to go back to resting and watching television very soon.

the best grocery order EVER

DELIVERED BOOZE!!, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

grocery delivery FINALLY came through this time by bringing the booze that i ordered. HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY!!

there may be hope for this state after all. in other words, if i can drink enough, i can forget that i'm stuck here for about another year. HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY!!

in a pickle

pickled onions, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

hahaha oh, the fun you can have with titles. (*discreet eyeroll*)

today i placed the grocery order which included 1) booze! (let's hope they fucking deliver it!) 2) ingreds for homemade branston pickle.

yes! we are going to try to make branston pickle! (these onions leff made last year will have to serve as a placeholder until we have a picture of the pickle.)

I AM GIVING YOU AN OWL service

I AM GIVING YOU AN OWL service, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

a back story is required before you understand why finding this drawing in this particular book was creepy and very funny to me.

every spring i watch creepy british shows from the 70's and 80's (two examples of this that spring to mind are "sapphire and steel" and "children of the stones")

this year i have been watching "the owl service". (you can too!) i needed a slight refresher on the welsh story of blodeuwedd (because, really, who doesn't) that is central to the plot, so i grabbed my copy of the owl service off the shelf and found...a drawing from the owl service plate stuck inside.

for those of you who are not familiar with the story, a drawing taken from the owl plate is what starts all the weird, freaky shit happening.

i don't know why i enjoy creeping myself out like this but it was funny. especially on april fool's.

my new most favorite insult

smeg oven, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

it's a real product! they have a page devoted to COOKING WITH SMEG I CANNOT BREATHE I AM LAUGHING SO HARD 

(highly subjective) lines of beauty

swimming pool lines, a photo by Rakka on Flickr.

i do enjoy the lines that my blue lights in a jar cast on the wall. they remind me of the patterns that light makes on the bottom of a swimming pool.

this post really makes me want to read some alan hollinghurst.