Gadding About with The New Yorker December Cartoon Issue

I really enjoy the cartoons in the New Yorker, and the December 30, 2019 issue had a DIY cartoon activity that I decided to attempt since I have set aside today to have fun, relax, and enjoy the day.  So here is my DIY cartoon.

Instructions in The New Yorker for DIY cartoon.  I cut how what I needed for my cartoon. 

I couldn't resist since a crocodile was one of the characters I could choose for my cartoon.

Now those of you who know the story of how Dan (my husband) and his graduate student, Joe escaped a crocodile that attacked their rubber boat back on November 11, 1960 while they were sounding a lake in Africa that they were researching.   The boat was sinking, and fortunately, the croc stayed with the boat to try to take it under.  Meanwhile, Joe and Dan swam for about 2 hours and escaped its mighty jaws.

My DIY Cartoon. 

Now back to reading the rest of this issue of The New Yorker.

Gadding About With Dorian in Cape Breton

Leaving North Carolina for a brief vacation in Cape Breton, I thought I would leave Dorian, who was heading for the Carolinas, behind.  Not so!  Dorian followed me to Cape Breton.

I picked up Zach and Rachel at the airport on Friday in Halifax, and we thought it best to hunker down in Halifax for the night when Dorian was expected to hit. Their hotel had a generator, and I was staying with Becky and Bruce with no generator, but with the well-prepared for a hurricane couple.

Dorian arrived in Halifax around 6 pm.  It was raining hard and there was a swift wind when at 9:00pm on Friday we lost power.  Never fret,  Bruce was prepared.  He fetched his little Lee Valley Lantern and voila we had power of a sort. (Reminder: Add purchasing one of these to my to-do list.)

Juno, their newest Husky, by lantern light. 

Breakfast Saturday morning was no problem for Bruce, a scout leader.  Out on the deck with a Coleman griddle, he prepared breakfast of eggs, toast and sausage.

Breakfast from the griddle. 

Saturday morning was beautiful, clear and sunny.  Zach, Rachel, and I decided to go to our house in Marble Mountain, knowing that we would be off the grid for our brief stay there.  It would be an adventure of sorts.  No water, no power, no Wifi, no cell phone, no landline.  Just the beautiful scenery and helpful neighbors.  We did have a supply of bottled water and half a bottle of Marble Mountain red wine.   And we picked up sandwich supplies at Sobeys in Port Hawkesbury.

A good local wine.  This vineyard is just down the road from our place in Marble Mountain. 

The most fun perhaps was playing Scrabble by candlelight and flashlights.

Scrabble by candlelight. 

We had external chargers to keep our cell phones charged so the phone flashlights worked.  There were two candles in the house and three flashlights. And wine!

Rachel used a head lantern. 

Zach in the glow of Rachel's headlamp contemplating a play. 

This may be the first time that Zach has been completely off the grid for 24 hours.  He survived, and we were pleased that we made the trip out.  There was no kayaking, ergo, this calls for another trip to Marble Mountain!

Lunch with Norman and Frances

Frances

Norman

Two of my best friends in Nova Scotia are Norman and Frances Oram (Frances is the daughter of another best friend, Michealette, and I've known her since she was a preteen.) Top of my list on this trip was to visit in St. Peter's with these two, so Michealette and I drove over for lunch. Frances and Norman can fix something delicious on the spur of the moment.  (I offered to take them out for lunch, but Frances wanted to prepare lunch.)

Delicious homemade chicken soup really fit the bill.  I contributed Cedar House tea biscuits that I had bought the day before.  A green salad topped off a delicious lunch.

The desserts, however, were the icing on the cake.  The homemade blueberry cake (sorry I didn't get a photo, I was too busy enjoying it) with just a simple vanilla icing was soooo good.  The other option was Smores.  The Smores were made inside, so no bugs! You may find it hard to believe, but I had never eaten Smores.  So I had both desserts.  Yum!!!

My very first Smores.  I loved it. 

Will-O the family cat who will sit at the dining table and not make a move to get on the table joined us.  Well-behaved cat I must say! He's such a handsome fellow too with an unusual coat pattern.

Will-O sitting politely at the table. 

Frances always has the table decorated colorfully.

Pretty table.  

I find their house so beautifully decorated, and not surprising, they are both extremely talented and artistic.

As we left,  Frances demonstrated the porch swing that Norman made for her.

This visit was a great beginning to my vacation in Cape Breton this summer.

p.s. Norman always has frozen mackerel for me, because he knows it is my favorite fish.  Michealette and I took this home for dinner that night. Thanks, Norman.

Frozen mackerel.

Gadding About on the Marlann in the 50s

The Marlann on Lake James ca. 1950

I was in Shelby recently and looking through some old photos, and I ran across photos of our houseboat, the Marlann.  It took my father about two years to build this boat in his spare time.  My father a machinist by trade had worked in a shipyard during his younger years so he knew exactly what he was doing. I still have this book that Daddy must have referenced as well.

The boat was built in a spare lot between our house and our grandmother's house out in the country in Cleveland County.  Many of our neighbors believed that the boat would never float. I was about eleven or twelve at the time, and I can remember helping caulk the seams in the part of the boat that would be underwater. We would get under the boat and stuff strips of cotton in the seams and then the bottom was painted with creosote to make it waterproof.  I can still smell the creosote! So I BELIEVED it would float.

The four of us.  I think I was 11 and Martha 8, so this must have been 1948 (Photo courtesy of my sister, Martha Cabaniss). 

Daddy would be out on Sundays sawing and hammering and making lots of noise while most neighbors were going by on their way to church.  Looking back, I imagine this was very embarrassing to my grandmother (his mother) who was a devout Baptist like most of the family and neighbors. This was back when many believed one should not work on Sunday, but I'm certain Daddy did not see it as work. To him it was FUN!

It was built in the vacant lot between our house and Grandma Greene's (that's my sister's doll).

He named the boat the Marlann, after my sister Martha (the Mar), my mother Roslyn (the l) and me (the Ann from Patricia Ann).  I always thought it was a nice name for a boat.

When it was time to launch, it was a school day, and my parents wouldn't let me go to the lake and see it launched.  I wanted to go see that it floated and did not sink like some of our neighbors were predicting. My mother's brothers and some of Daddy's friends went along to help with the launching.  The boat was hauled on a lowboy trailer pulled by a semi-cab that belonged to a neighbor.  At Benefield's Landing at Lake James up near Morganton in the western part of North Carolina was where it was launched.  It slid into the water along two dollies that my Dad had built just for that purpose.  It went into the water to exactly the water level that was blackened with creosote.  I suppose his shipyard days helped with that.

The launching. 

This was the first houseboat on Lake James, and motorboats would ride around when we were out on the lake to just take a look at it.  Usually, we would spend weekends in the summer there.  It stayed anchored in the cove at Benfield's under the watchful eye of Mr. Benfield.   This was back in the 50s when there weren't many boats on the lake. During the day we would cruise around on the lake and at night we would anchor near one of the islands.

Anchored near one of the islands. At the left, you can see the back of a small motorboat that we used to get out to the boat. 

Out on the lake. 

Daddy fishing on the deck. 

Mama fishing on the deck. 

Daddy had installed a 39 Chevrolet motor to run the boat and he had hooked up water so that it was drawn up out of the lake and run through the motor in some way so that we had hot water for washing dishes.  There was a toilet but no shower.  We had to bath in the lake which as a child I didn't mind at all.  The motor was enclosed in such a way so that if you stood on top of it you were in the wheelhouse or at least you could see out of the wheelhouse.  There were large paddle wheels on either side of the boat that propelled it.  The room at the aft of the boat had four beds.  The two lower ones served as seats during the day, and at night the two canvasbacks of the lower beds pulled up to make top bunks.

Daddy looking out of the wheelhouse. Notice the outside light.  Lights were run by batteries. 

Inside taken from the aft looking toward the engine room/kitchen. (Photo courtesy of my sister, Martha Cabaniss).

Mama at the wheelhouse, and me on the deck.  

I didn't realize how talented my Dad was when I was young.  Guess I though just anybody could build a boat.  Now I realize this was quite a work, and I'm sorry that Daddy sold the boat.  I think the new owner did not maintain it and perhaps eventually it sank to the bottom of Lake James.  If divers were able to find the Titanic, maybe I could find some who might find the remains of the Marlann.  Shall I add this to my bucket list?

Gadding About in my Butterbean Patch

A "mess" of butter beans ready to cook.  Enough for two people. 

My younger son is very fond of lima beans, so I thought I would plant butter beans (that's what we call lima beans in the south) in the raised bed in my garden.  I knew I could have enough to get a mess or two. (A mess in the south is at least one serving.  A mess depends on how many people you plan to feed actually.)

Why are these beans called butter beans?  Apparently, because they become rather creamy and buttery when cooked.  The term butter beans is used in England as well as here in the South. But not in the North. 

It was fun watching the beans sprout and come pushing through the soil.  Unfortunately,  although all the beans sprouted some hungry rabbit or perhaps deer feasted off half of them.  Thankfully the varmint did not return to finish off the crop. 

My butter bean patch where about half of the plants provided food for some hungry animal. 

Bean are mature enough to pick. 

Today I decided enough of the beans were mature enough to pick.  Patrick has been following these beans since I planted them and I showed him how to pick and shell them.  I can remember when I was growing up my folks had a large row or two of butter beans every summer and we had a lot to pick and shell.  Some of them would have been canned and others might have been mixed in with corn and tomatoes and canned to make succotash.

The pods usually contain three or four beans. 

The beans vary in size depending upon their maturity.  The smallest one could have grown a bit more, and the one on the far right is almost too big.  It could have been left to pick as a dried bean.  Notice the most mature ones turn somewhat beige. 

Enough beans to make a 'mess" (serving) for two people. 

It had been so long since I have cooked butter beans that I had to google to see how long to cook them.  I covered them with water and let them simmer for about an hour until they seemed done.
So for dinner tonight one of our side dishes will be butter beans. 

Ready to simmer covered in water for about an hour. 

A pat of butter on the butter beans is a must in this household.  Ready to eat as a nice side dish. 

Now I have to check to see what I can plan in the raised bed for the fall.  Maybe I'll try mixed greens--turnip, mustard, and kale. 

Gadding About at A Place at the Table in downtown Raleigh

A Place at the Table is a nonprofit community restaurant where everyone can eat regardless of your ability to pay.  The food is quite delicious and there's a nice variety of breakfast and lunch items from which to choose.  This was the first time that I and my granddaughter Grace had been to this place, but today we decided to have brunch there.  It was a nice choice.  We both thought it was a good way to start our Sunday.

Josh, the manager of the cafe.

Grace ready to enjoy her waffle and latte. 

Grace's Belgian waffle. 

My waffle with bacon and two perfectly cooked poached eggs. 

The nonprofit restaurant was opened in early 2018 as Raleigh's first pay-what-you-can restaurant.  Prices are comparable to other downtown places, and those who can afford to pay full price can do so and even if they choose they can buy a token for a $10 donation or leave a tip that goes into the operating fund of the restaurant. Those who may not be able to afford full price can come in and choose a token and get a meal.  The person who uses a token must then volunteer their time in the restaurant in return.  Maggie Kane, the young Raleigh native, who opened the restaurant says this is a hand up rather than a handout.  I was also pleased to learn that the folks who work there are paid a living wage!

Outside tables as well as inside (Photo by Walter magazine.)

It was nice to be enjoying a good meal with people from all walks of life.  This is going to be one of my places to eat on a regular basis now, and I might even sign up to volunteer. It is such a wonderful way to help those who may otherwise go hungry, and it makes me proud to live in a city such as Raleigh.

Check out this article about Maggie Kane and APATT in Walter Magazine.

Gadding About in Amsterdam

Beautiful Amsterdam the city of dikes and canals. 

Before Jen and I took the Viking River Cruise this summer, we spent three days in Amsterdam where the Cruise began.  This was probably my favorite city that we visited during the three weeks we were away.  The highlights were the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijks Museum.  One day in each of these was not nearly enough time to appreciate all the beautiful art. 

There was one large area devoted just to Van Gogh's Sunflowers in the Van Gogh Museum.  

The Rijks Museum in Amsterdam.

A stained glass window in the Great Hall of the Rijks. 

The Milkmaid by Vermeer (Girl with Pearl Earring was on loan.) in the Rijks. 

Bicycles the common mode of transportation. 

We must include some of what we ate in Amsterdam.  Can't forget the food. 

We had dessert at the coffee shop at the Rijks Museum.  The cheesecake was embossed with an image of Rembrandt. 

Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe where I had grenadine and sparkling water, and our waiter was a cute fellow named Jorg.  

Now off to board the Viking Ship and begin our cruise.