Author: doug

This Carolina wren came to visit our feeder this morning. By the time I ran to get the big camera it was on the tree and this was the best shot I could get. These birds are insectivores but I guess they’ll eat seeds to fatten up for the winter.

Make steamed bao.

Seen here before folding. I won’t share the results of my ham-handed folding, but they were delicious regardless.

 

My nephew and his wife brought their dog over for a physically-distant BBQ this evening.

This is the fingerprint reader on my laptop. Not too secure. (Fingerprint digitally altered to protect my privacy.)

A friend asked us for a picture of our new propane fire pit in action, because he’s considering getting one. Twist our arms… here you go, Jeff!

Closeup:

Lis and I walked up to the Waltham farmer’s market this morning, and came back with about 20 lbs of food! Lis carried some of it, but I’m still glad I thought to bring my backpack for the heavy stuff.

I bought a cheap fully-manual large-aperture wide angle lens for my little mirrorless camera. I believe it’s required to demonstrate new photo equipment first with a cat photo, so here you go. Not bad for $75.

You see here my two volumes of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” — Julia Child’s seminal cookbooks — that I got from my mom’s apartment. The binding is broken on Volume 1, and I’ve been meaning to glue it for ages. Today was the day. The second book is providing extra weight on the glue, and the ruler is inside the spine providing support.

Corn tortillas that you buy are not fully cooked. Look how the one on top, which spent about 30 seconds a side on a cast-iron griddle, has shrunk as it heated through. They’re so much tastier once they’re actually cooked through. This has been a public service announcement of the Parkercat Food Network.

This most excellent bottle of Scotch — a birthday present from a generous friend — lasted almost exactly one year in my house. I vowed to only raise a glass of it in celebration with friends & family, and I did keep that promise. Some friends and I drank its last dram at a Physically Distanced BBQ this past weekend.