Saturday, January 30, 2010

Glorious new kitchen gadget!

30/365

I finally got an immersion blender and I tried it out today on soup and salsa. I LOVE this thing. Making blended/pureed soup is so much easier with this than doing small batches in the blender. It saves time, mess, and dirty dishes. I like making soups so this means I will probably make them more often and it seems perfect for things like mashed potatoes, dips, milkshakes, and sauces.

In the background is some salsa I blended in the cup that came with the blender. The salsa has a can of diced tomatoes, a little onion, cilantro, and hot pepper and Craig liked it enough that he almost ate all of it in one sitting. Oh, and it's pretty easy to clean. I just run it immersed in some soapy water, then clean water.

Faded Rose

29/365

I was about to throw out this vase of dried roses, but this one looked ripe for a photograph so I saved them a little longer.

Snow

28/365
I shot this through the stairs up to the deck. The blur at the bottom is the snow on the stair. This snowfall lasted just a few hours before the temperature went above freezing and rain melted the snow.

Waiting for the 6 train

27/365
103rd St 6 train station, waiting to head downtown to catch the F home.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Rolling benches

26/365
I wanted some things from a grocery store in Red Hook (another Brooklyn neighborhood) and I got off the bus early to take some pictures at the Erie Basin Park behind Ikea. It was a cold blustery day, so I pretty much had it to myself. The wind was so strong at some points I could barely stand still, let alone hold the camera still.

This park isn't used much but I think actually has some great design and it's along the water, which is nice. There are lots of different types of benches and they are all interesting in some way, and some nice patches of grass. I was happy with a lot of my shots so you can see more at my Flickr page if you want. I like this one because it kind of looks like a face.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Late night delivery

25/365
One benefit of living in a big city is that we can order groceries online and have them delivered when we want. This shipment arrived around 11pm on a Monday. They have the *best* produce. There is no same day delivery, but if you're wiling to plan you can avoid dragging a cart full of stuff home.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Flowers!

24/365

Craig went out for errands and came home with a bag of dog food and these! I took this photo in really low light with no flash and I'm pretty happy with the result.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

More houseboats!

23/365

I'm really fascinated with the Gowanus Canal, that cuts into Brooklyn. There are major efforts to make it a superfund (meaning it's got tons of contaminants) sight and it usually smells and foams like it should be one. Craig and I took Shep on a journey to retrieve our freshly sharpened knives from a shop in another neighborhood (Cook's Companion on Atlatnic for the locals wondering where to go). Coming home we crossed a bridge on Carroll Street, where this photo was taken from, that I was totally unaware of. It is tiny and hardly has any traffic which means it's a good bike route over the Gowanus. I'm curious about who owns these houseboats and if they live in them.

Oh, and for you Brooklynites, those are taco trucks and the like parked in the lot on the left. Just go hang out on Bond near Carroll if you want to stalk them.

Where I work for now

22/365
This is the Ichan building, one of many buildings of the Mount Sinai campus. I am doing my required internship in the bottom of this building. I'm working on a program (side program to WTC health program) funded to look at the cardiac health of current and former police officers that worked in/near Ground Zero after 9/11. I am mostly there to do whatever office tasks need to be done and will hopefully pull my thesis from some of the study's data.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Houseboat in Brooklyn

21/365
Looking down the Gowanus Canal towards Manhattan, from 3rd St in Brooklyn.

Rocks, the new ice

20/365

Craig got these stones that you keep in the freezer and use in drinks instead of ice. The benefit is no melting ice to dilute your beverage.

Roasted vegetables!

19/365
A food theme seems to be emerging. I think it is because taking photos while out and about in this weather is hard when just seconds without gloves in the weather can leave some of my fingers numb. Expect plenty of kitchen and train station photos while it's cold :) These veggies were mixed with ginger, cilantro, and broth for a tasty soup.

Sad pie

18/365
I've never had trouble making a meringue, but this one was my third try and I just couldn't get the volume up. I finally gave up on this one and just put it on the [delicious] chocolate pie and browned it. I think my problem was the temperature of my whites and the room--too cold.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

17/365

Sleepy puppy.

16/365

We saw Eddie Izzard at Madison Square Garden. Zoom lens weren't allowed so I just took the point and shoot--I didn't want to risk what might happen if I had the big camera in my purse. Would they not let me in or make me check it? I didn't really need a stellar shot from way up where we were sitting anyway, just one to remember it by :)

15/365

Path of destruction! Shep went crazy with his stuffed tiger this night and there was stuffing everywhere. I tried to make it look more dramatic by knocking out most of the colors but some yellow from the photo.

14/365

New stuff! I had an appointment in SoHo this afternoon (the 14th when I took these, no the day I'm posting) so I went early to run some errands. One thing I've been avoiding is getting a new purse. I usually use a very utilitarian, youthful looking purse so it was time for an "adult", girly bag. I think this one will do (I'm bad at choosing which ones I like, though I can tell which ones I definitely don't like). It meets my criteria of having several pouches so I can quickly access phone, metro card, keys, etc. and it has an over the opposite shoulder strap which makes for hands-free carrying and makes life much easier when you are on trains and walking everywhere instead of in a car. I restrained myself and didn't get the really big one I wanted, but I may go back for it since I need a bag that I could put school notes and reading materials in as along with umbrellas, hats, and gloves.

I've been in search of these kind of gloves/mittens for a while but they are surprisingly hard to find. Most are knitted, which is bulky and not warm but these are fleece which is slightly better and the one and only pair I found near small enough for my hands, which are not tiny. Even the thumb cover opens! These are great for getting out my metro card or taking a picture without totally de-gloving.

Not an exciting shot, but I'm happy with my purchases. Oh, and I had a big coupon to DSW where I got the bag so it was half-off.

13/365

Smoothie! I probably average a smoothie a day. I make them all myself (the ones I'v bought all taste over-sweetened) and my current obsession with them made me feel like I should have some pictures. My basic smoothie pretty much always has milk (I'm on skim these days), banana, and strawberries. I often buy frozen berries since it's cheaper and easier to always have on hand, and the berries in this one are from the freezer. The rest changes depending on what we've got: blackberries are great, kiwi, apples, mango, blueberries, and other juices often make it in. While they are in season, white peaches added to my basic mix make one of my all time favorite flavor combinations.

Before blending:


Finished product:

12/365

I've always loved this variety of asparagus fern but I can't seem to keep them fully green and alive since moving to NYC. I'm wondering if it's the lack of humidity. People here complain about humidity on days I think feel dry.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

11/365

Rude awakening. A pile of christmas trees waiting for the recycling truck was set on fire (I think it was the brat around the corner) in the middle of the night and caught this car nearby on fire as well. I woke up to the smell of smoke so strong I thought our place of the one next door was burning. Luckily 3 fire trucks showed up (quiety-lights, no sirens at the late hour) and only the car was damaged and about 10 trees burned down to the trunks.

10/365

Ten days down! This tree trunk has been there a while and I was really happy with how the image looked shooting through the hole.

9/365

9/365

Geese on ice. We skipped off-leash this morning and opted for a later in the day walk once the temperature was above 20 degrees. The geese were all over on this side of the lake for some reason. I'm guessing the mean swans scared them off to this corner.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

8/365
3 shots for today.

This is Houston Street near Lafayette. I have to leave the station here to transfer to the uptown 6 because that part of the station isn't connected underground. I included this one since I live in a city and figured I should have some that show that.




"Run Time Error" There are often odd bits of graffiti like this that are all over. This one is on the ceiling in the 7th Ave F station and I've seen it on a lot of mailboxes and the sidewalk. These kinds of things are often advertising, but this one might be an artistic or political endeavor.



Snowfall number 3 or 4, I can't keep up anymore. It was only an inch or two and some critter was in our backyard. I can't tell if it was a raccoon or a huge squirrel.




7/365
At the orthopedist's office. I tore a ligament in 2009 and have spent a lot of time in doctors' offices. At this appointment I was told I probably also "pulled" a nerve, which just takes a long time (one year +) to heal. He did give me some pain patches to numb it.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Almost a week down!

6/365
Another train station shot. There might end up being a lot of these since I spend a lot of idle time waiting on trains. This is in the Broadway/Lafayette (at Houston) station. I switch between the F and the 6 here. On the way home at night (rush hour) Ithe F train is pretty full here so I wait for one that isn't too sardine can-like. I also take the F to this station from home a lot because there are lots of shops I like near the station, like an Apple store, Mac (the make-up brand that makes my beloved Lip Glass), H&M, Housing Works, Banana Republic, EMS, and more!




5/365
Gross! This is the lint/dirt covered filter in our shop vac. I vacuum out the lint trap of the dryer often because the owners apparently set up the dryer vent hose in a way that all repairmen call "an extreme fire hazard". I also brush Shep in the basement and then vacuum the loose hair off of him. I hadn't emptied this vacuum in many many months.




4/365
96th Street 6 train station. I usually get off the train here to go to campus. Each station has it's own tile work and color schemes, which I'm told was at least partially done so that even those who don't read could tell the station apart.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Start of my 365

3/365

A light dusting of snow. We got lucky and didn't get enough to stomp into ice that day.



2/365

The first one is me playing with settings while shooting the lights on our Christmas tree.
The second is is an example of the amazingly low noise in extreme low light this camera gets! The only editing was to crop the shot.





1/365

This is a common scene in our sink. Craig and I see who can deal with a dirty pot in the sink for the longest on things that won't get clean in the dishwasher. I usually loose and wash them after a couple of days. We can go that long since we don't often have something that needs serious scrubbing.