19. Homemade pizza: Blog to accompany the video

Our first date was at a pizza restaurant, and it was a big hit with this pizza enthusiast. The fourth date can mean mean a number of things, but for us it meant homemade pizza. Making pizza became one of our regular activities as we continued dating, got engaged, and then married. Pizza will always…

18. Remembering Rocket the betta fish

Graduate school was a unique time in our lives, to say the least. Underneath the big gray clouds of pressure to complete our doctoral programs and become respectable researchers, we also enjoyed our youth with some frugal and resourceful adventures. We had been together just about a year when we got our first pet together.…

17. Dried wedding bouquet Christmas tree/holiday keepsake ornaments

What happens to the big bouquet after your wedding? We may wonder because the bouquet connects us with special memories, and that bouquet may not have been inexpensive. But perhaps you don’t want to keep it propped up in a vase in bouquet-form indefinitely. Without fancy preservation (for example, this service), it will necessarily dry…

16. Having a Ball (Pit) as an Adult in 2022

Who remembers ball pits? Swimming in a full body massage of solid air bubbles, while hearing and feeling the reverberation of the colorful balls as they negotiate time and space? All suspended in a tight-woven net held by metal springs, and maybe some plasticky smells and textures too? They’ve become a rarity these days, for…

15. Scoping out your voltage

We have a portable generator that we use to power our home’s essentials in the event of a utility power outage. And home backup power generation could easily be one or more blog entries by itself. Generator sizing, portable versus fixed units, fuel options, power distribution options, operational safety… Today’s blog is more a follow-on…

14. The shockingly diverse world of multimeters

Electrification… The greatest engineering achievement of the twentieth century. Once a mysterious and almost magical curiosity, its use has become so intertwined with modern life that most of us scarcely think about it except when it stops—when our batteries go dead, the lights go out, or an appliance decides that it just doesn’t want to…

13. The Christmas Foster Kitty

It was Friday evening just before 5:30, and we were preparing dinner and planning for the weekend. But then our next-door neighbor messaged both of us, asking what to do about a very sweet tortoiseshell cat that had wandered into her house. She posted on Nextdoor at our suggestion, but with a very excitable dog…

12. A viral long-hauler’s timeline, almost certainly COVID: March 2020 and onward

Self-identified COVID long-hauler here. March 2020 was life-changing for me, in that I believe it directly affected my health and well-being, and not in good ways. My illness wasn’t confirmed COVID, but I think the timing was just too suspicious. Around March 13, 2020, I went from about thirty years old and generally healthy to…

11. How to wash LEGO pieces like a pro

Secondhand LEGO hauls are exciting. Big bins of chaos and creative potential with assorted pieces from who-knows-what sets. But they can also be dirty. Before introducing them to your collection, it’s probably a good idea to wash them. And even LEGO you’ve had for a while that have gathered dust and dirt for whatever reason…

10. Writing to Apple Inc.: Disappointment in lack of 32-bit software compatibility in MacOS Big Sur

March 29, 2021 Dear Apple Inc., I saw an article published by Inc. the other day, claiming that Apple’s most valuable product isn’t the iPhone, but instead intangible consumer trust. But right now I’m feeling betrayed on that front. Recently I feel like Apple could have signaled that it values its relationships with companies like…

9. Recipe: Easy buffalo chicken mac and cheese (blue box augmentation!)

Once when I was a teenager living at home, my dad made a delicious buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese dish. It was super rich and savory, but it was clearly a lot of work. As I recall there was cream involved (maybe cream cheese), onions and celery in a food processor, and the dish was…

8. Review of Beyond Meat Sausage Links – Brat Original

Is there such a thing as a good sausage substitute? For us it needs to be soy-free (we might share more on this later). Sure, you can sprinkle on the key seasonings (like on a breakfast sandwich – see our last post), but that misses much of the texture and much of the richness. I’m…

7. Seasoning Blend: Simple “Sausage Spice”

I miss sausage. Along with bacon, pepperoni, and its other cousins (but that’s another story). It can be comforting, especially on a weekend morning, as part of a big, hot breakfast or brunch complete with eggs. Or if you’re like me and enjoy making just about anything into a sandwich, the breakfast sandwich – often…

6. Keeping cats from imposing chaos on the entire house

How to keep cats from imposing chaos on the entire house? Long story short, we restrict mobility, depending on the situation. We know many people let their cats roam free all the time, but we really value our ability to sleep through the night (quite literally), knowing that little kitty paws aren’t getting into too…

5. Writing to The LEGO Group: Diversity in generic minifigure skin tones

LEGO minifigures have always had a special place in my heart. They’re lovable, cute, and interchangeable, but well…mostly yellow. I’d love to see the generic minifigures better represent people with darker skin tones. My understanding is that actual flesh tones are reserved for specific characters (like from Star Wars). But as far as standard-issue, generic…

4. Thanksgiving holiday bonus food story: Green bean casserole

Apparently as a child I didn’t like the green bean casserole at holiday meals. As I got older, my grandfather seemed to have convinced me to regularly have at least a single bean with my meal – for good luck or perhaps what he told me about their hair-straightening properties (haha!). As more years passed,…

3. Accompaniment for Violin YouTube playlist

Kudos to so many helpful YouTube contributors! (So much accessible on the internet these days!) For anyone looking to enrich their solo violin repertoire, these accompaniment videos may be worth checking out. My playlist is linked here. It’s a work in progress, or living playlist, if you will. Selections include Vivaldi’s Winter concerto, Accolay’s “Student…

2. Recipe: Easy taco bake

Once upon a time, we had lots and lots of corn tortillas in the freezer and other taco ingredients on hand. We decided to improvise a dish that would last multiple meals, and we were pleased with how it turned out. The best part was how low-maintenance it was – so many fewer dishes (like…

1. Updated first post: Pristella tetras in 2016

This is an update of our first post from June 2016, with a “family picture” of the Pristella tetras. More to come!