Family Adventures: Why Japanese Food Is Vitally Important

Image via Facebook

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Japan is a big part of my life. Not only did I spend two years of my young adulthood teaching English in Yokohama but my sister and I were both born in Japan. We were diplo-brats, as my father served at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo for seven years. We left when I was three. It was Dad's last overseas post. We spent the rest of our childhoods in suburban Maryland.

But Japan has been very important to our family ever since, not least in our gastronomical adventures. During our family trip to Europe in 1984, our favorite restaurant in Paris was a yakitori-ya. Sushi restaurants were a popular choice for birthday dinners for many years.

Vermont is not exactly overrun with Japanese restaurants but we decided to try out a new one for lunch on Sunday: San Sai in Burlington. They have a wonderful spot with a view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks beyond. The prices are a little high but the service is good and the food excellent. I went with chirashi. I generally prefer sashimi to sushi so I can control the amount of wasabi, not subject to the whims of the chef. Chirashi's so pretty, too - not really essential to the flavor but visual presentation is very important in Japan, especially where food is concerned. Overall, a great lunch.


Photo via New Ko Sushi Japanese Restaurant - not exactly the same as what I had but a reasonable visual approximation

We had our broomball playoffs this weekend. We're telling our students that we finished in fourth place. I don't think any of them read my blog but just in case, that's my official position here, too. I'm already excited for next season in the fall, though we need to get to work recruiting people who will show up for games. There's plans for kickball this summer. I passed on the spring season but the team did well - for real this time. They finished in second place out of four teams. The league for the summer season is much bigger. The first place team gets to go to Vegas for nationals!


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Family Adventures: Why Thai Food Is Vitally Important

It was a pretty quiet weekend here. Our main family adventure out of the house was picking up take out from Sukho Thai. We take Thai food seriously. For me, the cuisine is part of a family legacy. My parents met in Peace Corps training in the early '60s on their way to serve in Thailand - just the beginning of their Asian adventures as it would turn out. When we were kids, my sister and I weren't too impressed by the Thai Room, the one Thai restaurant in Northwest DC at the time but we both grew to love it. Eating Thai food is how I learned to like spicy.


Image via WCAX

My Wife loves the stuff, too, and has actually mastered quite a few dishes herself over the years. When we were looking for a place to settle, a city with a decent Thai restaurant was an important requirement. If it had been the most important consideration, we might have chosen Ithaca, New York but Burlington passed muster so here we are. To her credit, Our Girl is a more adventurous eater than I was at her age but still isn't quite as excited by Thai food as she is by Chinese. She's a dumpling fiend. It's hard to top Chinese in that category.

We ordered well. I got my usual, Pad Kee Mao, and was very happy with it. My Wife found an awesome Krapow Duck dish - one to remember. Our Girl loaded up on appetizers: Gai Satay and Dim Sum. All were happy.

It was a very exciting weekend in broomball. We won our game on Friday night! Final score: 1-0 with Slim knocking in an unassisted beauty in the third period. It always feels good to play well but it feels even better to play well and win. We controlled the ball for most of the game and that will be key for us heading into the playoffs next weekend. Mock said he only had to stop three shots from the other team. We had subs, too, which was glorious. The albatross has been lifted!

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Family Adventures: The Cost of an Early Spring

After a glorious week of sunny days and temperatures in the 70s, we got back to more typical early spring weather this weekend: rainy and chilly. Due to our mild winter in Vermont, there are already buds on the trees - about a month earlier than usual. It will be nice to see green soon but, as we will address shortly, the early spring has come at a cost. On to the highlights of a busy weekend...


Maple Open House Weekend

Early spring, a.k.a. Mud Season, is arguably the most miserable time of year in Vermont. As the snow melts, all of our charmingly rustic dirt roads turn to goop. Winter's beautiful white is gone and the glorious green of seasons to come has not yet taken hold. Instead, there's wet, brown muck.


Photo via Elsie's Daughter

The annual payoff for this gloomy time of year is an awfully good one: maple syrup, a substance for which Vermont is justifiably well-known and very proud. This weekend was the official open house weekend for the sugar shacks statewide. Unfortunately, everything I wrote last week about this being a good year for maple sugaring was completely wrong. Once the trees bud, the sap stops running. It's all over. Last year, they were able to tap the trees until mid-April - brutal.

Undeterred, we dutifully visited our closest sugaring house, owned and operated by the family of one of Our Girl's good friends. They didn't have any grade B, our favorite, and are unlikely to given the weak harvest. We got some grade A medium amber and also some maple sugar for toast and such - a perfectly respectable haul but one hopes for better next year for their sake more than ours.


Broomball

Lost again, 1-0. It's a distressing pattern. I do feel like we get better each week and I think we can be particularly proud of how we played in the first period as most of the action was in our opponents' end of the ice. I'm working on being a better passer and that was going well - for a while.

What's killing us is a lack of subs. There were only six of us on Saturday night, just enough to field a team. For next season, we need to find people who will show up. Those of us who've been playing regularly have improved and others would, too. Playing thirty minutes with barely a chance to catch your breath between periods is just too much. It was my own errant pass that started the other team on their breakaway for their only goal. I take full responsibility. But, if I hadn't been exhausted, it might not have happened.


Green Mountain Film Festival

Focus on Film is currently in the midst of the 15th Annual Green Mountain Film Festival. Most of the festival takes place in Montpelier but there will also be screenings in St. Johnsbury next weekend. We went to see A Cat in Paris this morning. The film was shown at the City Hall Arts Center, a fairly large space that I was sure couldn't be filled on a Sunday morning. Boy, was I wrong! This was the festival's big kid-friendly feature but there were plenty of all age groups in attendance. Everyone applauded at the end, too. I love it when people clap at the end of a movie.


Image via Unseen Films

The film is very charming, well-deserving of its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. The story is pretty straight-forward: a mute girl living with a single mom and a cat who goes on nightly adventures. There's more, of course, but I won't spoil the fun for anyone interested in seeing it. The animation was very nice, mostly cell-animation, I think. The plot is simple, easy to follow and moves along at a fair clip. My Wife didn't like the Olive Oilish chests on the women and I didn't care for the lines on the faces - looked like whiskers on the men and freckles on the women but they just made everyone look untidy. But overall, all three of us enjoyed the film very much. Four out of five stars from me.

Editorial Note: Suze's comment below made me think that perhaps one might get the wrong idea from my previous paragraph. There's not a thing wrong with freckles on women or whiskers on men. But they were drawn similarly so it looked like the women had whiskers high on their cheekbones. It just didn't look right.

My Wife commented that perhaps next year, we'll see nominated movies before the Oscars. I think she may have been a little embarrassed at the Oscar party that we hadn't seen more of the films. Seeing as Our Girl has come to terms with the fear of the dark element, our cinema attendance has increased dramatically over the past several months. I think we'll be in respectable shape in time for next year's party.


Coffee Corner

“I went into a restaurant. The menu said, ‘Breakfast anytime.’ So I ordered French toast during the Renaissance.” - Steven Wright

In my opinion, the three most beautiful words in the English language are "Breakfast Served Anytime." Such is the promise at Coffee Corner, just down the street from City Hall. Our wait for a table was a bit long and I was more than a little grumpy by the time we were seated but all turned out fine in the end. I had a half-stack with a side of corned-beef hash. I initially ordered the full stack but our waitress advised against. "Most people don't finish the full stack," she said, "I don't want you to waste your money." So, I ordered the half and she promised to bring me more if I was still hungry. Fair enough.

The half stack was plenty - and glorious. I love a good pancake - a spongy one that melts in your mouth. In truth, I probably could have had more but it seemed silly to do so just to prove a point. I was happy with my meal.


Phoenix Books


Image via Essex Shoppes & Cinema

Our final stop on the way home was our local independent book store, Phoenix Books in Essex. Business must be going well as they're opening a second location in Burlington. The reason for our visit today, however, was an art display by Our Girl's after-school art program. We got to see animal paintings by Our Girl and her friends - impressive work by all, especially considering the age. She loves art and I'm very pleased that we've found such a meaningful outlet.

Off My Duff: St. Patrick's Day Broomball

Image via Chateau Montelena Winery

St. Patrick's Day probably wasn't the best time to schedule a broomball game, at least not for our team. At least two of our team members arrived already quite merry (and no, I wasn't one of them). I won't blame the result on that, though. It was a hard-fought 1-0 loss and overall, I think we played well. We could use a more developed offensive concept - i.e., I'd like to better understand what I'm supposed to be doing. But what we really need is more players. We only had seven last night, which meant only one sub. I didn't have much left in the tank by the end of the game.

My Wife is out of town for work so a big thank you to Mrs. Mock for looking after Our Girl while Mock and I were at the game. Our Girl and their son (Mock Boy?) have gotten to be pretty good friends. We got in some nice visiting time before the game, too.

It's been a beautiful weekend. We never got much of a winter in northwest Vermont this year. There was some snow but none of the 18-inch blizzards we've come to expect. We've been in a constant state of thaw for what feels like months - not actually very pleasant. But now it feels like a real spring is on its way. And while the ski resorts have been hurting with the weather, apparently it's been great for maple sugaring. The sap is running fiercely. So, there should be plenty of syrup on offer soon.

Family Adventures: Pina

Image via Wikipedia

Every week, I pick up a copy of Seven Days, Burlington's weekly newspaper to plot out potential weekend adventures. This week, the film Pina caught my eye. A documentary about dance seemed promising given Our Girl's enthusiasm for ballet so I suggested we head to the Roxy, our local art theater, for a Saturday screening. Despite the fact that this was my idea, I had two misgivings about the movie. The first was the subtitles. Pina is a German film but also includes interviews in French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and probably other languages I didn't recognize. The review, though, suggested that the dancing is precedent with the interviews voiced over the dance sequence. Our Girl has sat through subtitled movies with us before. While she's a solid reader, we do occasionally have to read some of them aloud to her - won't fly in a movie theater.

My second concern was the PG rating for "some sensuality/partial nudity and smoking." Hmm. Our Girl is 8. Not sure. Further research attributed the concerns to some see-through clothing and artistic nudity. Hmm.

My Wife and I talked it over and she said she wasn't too worried, about either the subtitles or the rating issues. I suppose this is what the rating system is meant to do - to inform families about film content so we can make thoughtful choices - and better that we watch it together and give her the chance to talk about anything that bothers her or us.

All of that aside, the film itself is very good - Germany's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. It demonstrated a lot about what a documentary can be. The dance scenes were moved to different locations around the city of Wuppertal, including one particularly funny segment shot on a monorail car. There were a lot of interesting camera tricks, too. Special effects in a documentary? Is that kosher?

As for my concerns, the language was no big deal at all. Our Girl said she could read the subtitles just fine - silly me for worrying! As for the sensuality matter, it was definitely risque. I would never be able to show it in school, to be sure. But as for actual skin, I only caught one nip-slip.

("But you had to be looking for it," says I.
"Oh, and of course, YOU were looking for it," says My Wife.
"Yes," I respond, "but only because I was worried!")

Regardless, Our Girl seemed undisturbed and claimed she really enjoyed the movie. I feel a bit more justified in worrying about this one but I think we were right to take the chance. If she brings it up in therapy years from now, we may have to answer for it.

Overall, I'd give Pina three stars out of five. It's a great film and certainly a strong three but I don't feel a need to ever watch it again - my criterion for a four. The dancing can definitely tend toward the weird - I prefer ballet to modern, as does Our Girl - but it was undoubtedly technically solid. Particularly memorable was a dancer diving head first from a chair onto the stage before being caught by one of her male counterparts.


Broomball Update

Overall, last week was a very positive week. School budgets passed in both the town where we live and the one where I work. My re-licensing paperwork was approved. And, I scored my first broomball goal!

The ice rink was out of commission for the past two weekends - something wrong with the freezing apparatus or some such. So, we had a couple of unexpected bye weeks before Friday's game. My goal was set up by a pretty pass from our best player. We shall call him Slim - because he is. Slim had the ball just to the right of the goal, facing away from me, drawing the defense. I snuck in front of the goal and said his name, not yelling but just loud enough for him to hear. He passed it to me between his legs and I just had to knock it into the net - pretty slick, I must say. For me, it was mostly a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I was glad enough not to screw it up. Now that I have that monkey off my back, I'm going to work more on my passing.

Oh, we still lost: 4-3. Maybe next time.

Family Adventures: Miyazaki

Image via GeekTyrant

If you feel that there are no children's films sophisticated enough to hold the interest of adults or that there aren't enough strong female lead characters in such movies, then you have not yet been introduced to the extraordinary work of Hayao Miyazaki. We are devoted fans of the Japanese anime directing legend at our house. Our Girl has declared his films her "favorite kind of movie." She has manga comic books for several of them and loads of toys from the movies. Each of us has a favorite. Our Girl loves Castle in the Sky best. My Wife likes Spirited Away. I'm partial to Howl's Moving Castle. Bottom line, the entire opus is outstanding.


Miyazaki photo via Wikipedia

Until this weekend, we had never seen one of Miyazaki's films on the big screen. Miyazaki serves as director for many of the Studio Ghibli films but for The Secret World of Arrietty, he handed over the reins to Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Miyazaki maintains screenwriting credit, though, teaming with Keiko Niwa in adapting The Borrowers, the children's novel by Mary Norton. From the Ghibli logo at the opening, it was clear we were not the only longtime fans in the audience. My Wife overheard many whispers of "That's Totoro!"


Image via The Mary Sue

We love Miyazaki films for so many reasons. The artwork is beautiful, the stories rich and the characters nuanced. One of the big draws for us, though, has been Miyazaki's strong female leads. Arrietty is typical of his protagonists: adventurous, daring, neither exceedingly girly nor overly tomboyish. She's like a real kid, difficult to pigeonhole.

The film is wonderful - 4 out of 5 stars from me. We ran into Orange Man and his family at the theater. Touching base afterwards, he asked if I managed to stay awake through the whole thing. That is his measure for kids' films. Last year's Winnie the Pooh movie? Not so much. But he stayed awake for Arrietty.


Image via msnbc.com

I won't spoil too much for those planning to see the film but towards the end of the story, the cat leads Sho, Arrietty's human friend, to the Borrowers. We have a cat. Affectionately, we call him The Big Lug. He's a sweet kitty but not the sharpest tack in the drawer. If one of us is on our way to the kitchen, he runs in ahead excitedly, as if he has something to show us. He then invariably gets distracted by his food dish. We've been trying to figure out what he's trying to communicate to us with this display (never mind the obvious - there's always plenty of food in the bowl). As the closing credits were rolling, I leaned over to My Wife and said "I think he's trying to lead us to the Borrowers..." She laughed, clearly having thought the same thing.

It was an Asian-themed weekend for us. In addition to the Japanese film, we went out for two meals - Thai on Friday night and Chinese on Saturday after the movie. Our closest Thai restaurant has just come under new management. What was Tiny Thai is now Sukho Thai Restaurant in Essex. We had a loooong wait for a table but it was well worth it. My go-to dish in Thai food is Pad Kee Maow (aka Drunken Noodles) and Sukho's is excellent - wide noodles and plenty of heat. My order at Joyce's on Saturday night was less successful: the House Lo Mein. It did pair nicely with My Wife's order, though: Mongolian Lamb with Hot Chili Garlic.

On the broomball front, we lost again, 2-0 this time. Still no goals for me (obviously) but I can smell one coming soon. My shoes arrived in time and they're awesome! One can actually run like a normal person with them.

Off My Duff: Spreading the Faith

Inspired by our students who wear their jerseys to school on game days as a sign of team unity, all of us teachers on the broomball team wore our shirts to work on Friday. The kids were fascinated! For starters, the shirts are awesome, as readers of previous posts already know:


Also, we all have funky numbers. Mock is 3.14. Blue Liner is 007. I'm 4 over 4, as in the time signature:


But mostly, they were amazed to realize that we have lives beyond the school. I tell my students that I sleep in a bed that descends from a secret compartment in my classroom ceiling. I'm pretty sure at least half of them actually believe me. Even more than with their other teachers, they were shocked that I, the music guy, have any interests beyond my subject.

One class of fifth graders peppered me with questions. Despite living up here in the frozen north, most of them have no idea what broomball is. A few had it confused with curling which is certainly understandable. I laid out the basics: it's hockey with broom-shaped sticks, sneakers rather than skates and a ball instead of a puck. They wanted to know everything...

Q: Do you guys usually win?
A: (laughing) No, we usually lose.

Q: How big is the ball?
A: About the size of a large grapefruit.

Q: Does it hurt when you fall down on the ice?
A: Um, yes. Quite a lot.

Q: Can kids play?
A: Yes, but not in our league.

Q: How much time do you get to practice?
A: Apart from warming up before a game, none.

Q: Can we come watch you?
A: Uh, sure (thinking I must learn to clean up the expletives when the other team scores).

Q: Is the stick blade curved at all?
That one came from a particularly thoughtful student and he was completely serious. I suppose he was thinking of the slight curve in a hockey blade and wondered if the broom blades were the same way. I had to admit that I wasn't sure, but I'd check and tell him later. As it turns out, the answer is no - flat on both sides.

They kept me going for 30 minutes. The Blue Liner joked later that they'd found my weakness for distracting me from the lesson plan. True enough, but I'm willing to invest that kind of time for the kids to get to know me better, potentially see me as human. Besides, I love a good chat. I managed to squeeze in my syncopation intro and a dancing game in the last 15 minutes. It was a fun class - no harm, no foul.

As for Friday night's game, we got killed: 6-0. I played mainly forward again and while I'm getting pretty good at being in the right place at the right time, putting the ball in the net isn't quite as reflexive as I would like it to be. I always seem to smack it right at the goalie. I know, I know, the shot goes where your eyes go. I know...

It was great to have my new helmet, which brings to mind a song I'll save for the end of the post. Shoes are in the mail. As long as they get here before Friday, I shall tread the ice without fear in our next game. The Bobs know what I mean.

Family Adventures: Suckers for a Theme

We went to the Village Cup for dinner on Friday night. They are holding a year-long promotion entitled Routes of America, featuring a specials menu each week representing a different area of the country. Each month, in fact, has its own sub-theme. February's is musical cities, beginning this week with Nashville. My Wife and I are both suckers for a theme so we both ordered the fried chicken special. The restaurant is a bit expensive for a weekly visit but we may keep our eye out for particularly intriguing regions. Next week is Chicago, My Wife's longtime home. We're genuinely curious as to what they see as Chicago cuisine. Pizza? Brats?

The fried chicken, unfortunately from my perspective, was not quite what one would expect. I'm a purist. Southern fried chicken should look like this:


Photo via STARCH: a gastroblog

Instead, this was a boneless breast cutlet. It was well cooked, I suppose, but it didn't quite do it for me - more what one would expect from German cuisine, rather than US southern. I didn't try the peas underneath - not my vegetable of choice - but My Wife thought they were undercooked. Specials are chancy by nature. My usual order at The Village Cup alternates between the burger and the duck confit panini and both are excellent. It's worth taking a chance on something else once in a while. We'll be back.

Friday night's broomball game was a lot of fun, though yet another 2-1 loss. The ice was much choppier than it was for our past two games - ideal. I played wing for most of the game and really enjoyed it, even got a couple of decent shots on goal. I did my best to plant myself in front of their goal for rebounds. It really made them nervous, too. I got to feel notorious - always fun. It was the Blue Liner's maiden voyage with his new broomball shoes and the report was positive. I did pick up a helmet from Play It Again Sports on Saturday, on sale for half off. Shoes are next for me.

Saturday was mainly a shopping day for me - comic book shopping! We all headed to Earth Prime Comics in Burlington. In size, Earth Prime is closer to the small, Big Planet Comics (DC) end of the scale than the enormous, That's Entertainment (Worcester) end. For all of the many knocks on Worcester, Mass., That's Entertainment is spoiling me for comic shops elsewhere. Earth Prime has a decent selection, though, and they've recently rearranged their space and things are easier to find. They don't seem to carry manga anymore, though. Barnes & Noble had quite a broad selection but unfortunately not the title I was seeking. Between the two stores, I was able to find some excellent treasures.


Follow Up: Honey Tasting

Shannon Lewis, co-host of the A-Z Challenge, asked to hear more about last week's honey tasting, particularly about tasting the pollen. I thought I'd post my response for the benefit of all:

The pollen itself was quite bitter - not unpleasantly but also not the sort of thing you'd eat by the handful. The point though, was that even tiny, individual pellets were subtly different from one another, ultimately accounting for the variety of flavors in honey. To me, this begged the question as to how commercially produced honey managed to achieve such consistent flavor. Our tasting hostess suggested that it's likely a result of blending honey from various sources, but in fact they might not actually be as consistent as you'd think.


A-Z Update



My Wife has signed up for the A-Z Challenge. She's #496 on the list. Head on over and give her some encouragement at...

Wikes! Hikes on the Long Trail

Evidently Mock and Mrs. Mock are in, too, though I don't know if they've signed up yet:

Mock - Stay on Target...
Mrs. Mock - Exclamation Point (!)

Off My Duff: Gearing Up

With a slick new jersey and shin guards attached with duct tape, I'm gradually working my way up to a respectable level of broomball gear. We have a bye week coming up and I aim to go helmet shopping. Blue Liner has ordered specialty broomball shoes. To think, but a few months ago, I'd never even considered that such a thing existed. They're $90 a pair so not a casual investment. If he notices a difference, I may consider doing the same.


Photo via m.basa.org.au

We lost again this weekend. 6-1 was the final score. There are moments when we play really well and scoring goals is always encouraging. But there is, obviously, still a lot of room for improvement. I feel I've gotten incrementally better at a few things. I'm getting the hang of winning the ball off of an offensive player. I'm getting better at passing. I am careless around my own net, though. Two of the goals we allowed were deflections off of my stick (Blue Liner claims he's still one ahead of me for own goals but he may have just been trying to make me feel better). I'm still not comfortable moving around on the ice, either. Of course, the ice has been particularly slick the past two games as the skating class before us insists on having it cleared. Still, better shoes would help a lot.

Our team play has improved quite a bit, I think. We talk a lot more. We have a better sense of positions. The new shirts have helped to foster a sense of identity. But, in addition to opportunities to practice, I feel we could use a stronger sense of purpose and, occasionally, perspective. I want to win. I want to learn to play better. But more that anything, I want to enjoy the time with my colleagues, win or lose.

Family Adventures: Bridge Street Cafe

Bridge Street Cafe in Richmond, Vermont has long been our favorite comfort food restaurant. They passed my club sandwich test a long time ago - fresh homemade bread always makes for a strong entry. They do an excellent Sunday brunch. Today, I went with French toast and a side of ham: an old standby, very satisfying on a bitterly cold day. It's a family establishment - very warm and friendly. We could hear the kitchen staff singing along with the radio. It's definitely my kind of place.


Photo via find & go seek

We had our first broomball game of the winter season on Saturday night. Mock's cousin, The Carpenter, has lent me a pair of shin guards. I was very grateful for them as the ice was ridiculously slippery. Usually, there are hockey players on the ice before us and they chop up the surface quite effectively - ideal for broomball. Last night, there was just an adult skating class on before us. Someone needs to invent an anti-zamboni for broomball ice. Perhaps we should bring ice picks next time.

We lost 3-0. Even with the loss and the subpar conditions, it was good to be back out on the ice. Plus, we have snazzy new jerseys:


Photo by Mrs. Mock

Off My Duff: Broomball Playoffs

It turned out to be a pretty quiet weekend at our house. Our Girl woke up on Saturday morning vomiting. So any plans for adventures out on the town were postponed. We made good use of the quiet time, as described here.


Image via Municipal Ice Complex

We had our broomball playoffs on Friday evening. Unfortunately, our postseason only lasted one game. Even more unfortunately for me, I spent most of the game watching from the bench. Still nursing my wounds from the previous week, I didn't appreciate how limited my movements would be until I got out on the ice. Quickly realizing that I wasn't doing anyone any favors out there, I benched myself. Mock, good, loyal friend that he is, let me take a quick turn in goal just so I'd have a chance to play. It was fun for a bit, but I let a goal in, ending that experiment.

The team played great, achieving a 2-2 draw in regulation, doubling our goal total for the year. We lost on penalty shots, though Mock bravely made 5 saves in the shootout before a lucky one got through. I'm hoping the strong effort was despite my absence, not helped by it.

Regardless, I'm definitely in for the spring season, evidently beginning in January. There's talk of team jerseys. Hopefully, I'll be fully healed by then. I think a modest investment in protective gear is in order. I shall continue to advocate for practices and chalk talks when/if we can find the time. I have some ideas about how we might streamline our positional play.


Image via Merchant Circle

The highlight of the evening for me was our post-game gathering at The O.N.E. Pepper Grill in Burlington. One of the most common questions people ask me when my Japan experience comes up is if there's anything I miss about the culture. Even 13 years later, there are a few things. I miss the astonishing politeness, particularly in customer service. I miss the public transit system a lot. But perhaps what I miss most of all is the bars. Japanese bars are built for conversation: round or square tables, unobtrusive music and drinking rituals which encourage interaction. Few American establishments compare favorably in my experience. But The O.N.E. Pepper Grill was really nice. I could actually hear everyone in our group, even those furthest from me. I was impressed - one to remember.

Family Adventures: A Very Busy Saturday

Image via The Coca-Cola Company

Saturday was chock full of fun. We headed out late morning and didn't make it back until after Our Girl's bedtime. If there was a theme, it was Santa Claus. At eight years old, Our Girl still seems inclined to believe but I'm getting the feeling we may not have much longer. For instance, she has something she wants to put in our stockings this year so I think she's catching on that much of the magic of Christmas morning occurs with parental assistance.

First, we stopped by the Jericho Center Country Store to visit with the Jolly Old Elf himself. The store has been in business for a couple of centuries now, since 1807. They take holidays seriously. In addition to Santa, they have a great haunted house at Halloween.

Then on to the Fine Scottish Bistro (aka McDonald's) for lunch. Yes, I know all of the horror stories. I've read Fast Food Nation and seen Super Size Me. The Playwright spent much of Thanksgiving weekend regaling us with tales of all the unmentionables that go into McNuggets. I know that choosing McDonald's for a family meal is downright irresponsible. But it's fast, cheap, convenient and an easy sell for the kid. She and My Wife both got Mighty Kid Happy Meals so she managed to score both a Hello Kitty toy and a Bakugon.

Our nearest Mickey D's is now open 24 hours, both lobby and window. Long gone are the days when I had both hankering and freedom to pursue a 20-piece box of nuggets at 3 o'clock in the morning. The last 24-hour McDonald's I went to was in Roppongi in Tokyo some 13 years ago when I had the lifestyle to appreciate it.

Next, a movie at Essex Cinemas. Film is more or less the household hobby, though it's mostly home viewing. We haven't gone to the theater very much as a family. Essex is the closest cinema to us and the last film we saw there was the original Happy Feet, released in 2006. That was, in fact, the first time we ever took our daughter to a movie theater and it completely freaked her out. She did not deal very well with the dark combined with loud noises. We did better with Ratatouille the following year. But then I took her to the IMAX theater at the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian and the 3-D Deep Sea did not go over well at all.

Our Girl is older now and with so many great family films out at the moment, it seemed worth trying again. We showed her the trailers for Arthur Christmas, The Muppets and Hugo and let her choose. This won her over:



We're big Wallace & Gromit fans at our house. As such, we all had high hopes for the latest Aardman Animations production. This was the first picture of her own choosing that Our Girl ever posted on her bedroom wall:


Photo via Video Games Blogger

Essex Cinemas has done quite a lot in the past few years to draw couch-bound ciniphiles like us back to the movie theater. They now have several 3-D screens, including their T-Rex Theatre, opened in 2010. We might have to check that one out at some point, as well as their Club Take 2 for the 21 and over crowd.

This was actually my first time seeing a mainstream movie in 3-D. Our Girl wasn't freaked out at all, either. I asked My Wife afterward if she thought it was worth seeing on a big screen or in 3-D and she said no to both. It's still far cheaper to wait until we can watch at home so such considerations are important.


Image via Hollywood.com

I thoroughly enjoyed the film, a CGI affair as opposed to Aardman's usual claymation. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix. I'll admit there were times when the story dragged a bit but I had genuinely watery eyes by the end. So, for the record, that's no tears for The Time Traveler's Wife but plenty of them for Arthur Christmas. What can I say? I'm a sucker for "Spirit of Christmas" stuff.

After a few errands, it was on to the Mocks for dinner and board games. Mrs. Mock made yummy beef yakitori for dinner. Afterwards, we introduced them to a game we've been playing for a few years now: Carcassonne, a medieval-themed map building game. My Wife prefers board games that are easy to learn and can be played in under an hour. I favor ones in which no one is eliminated - everyone gets to play through to the end. Carcassonne meets all of the above requirements.


Image via Collections Wow

It's good to share games with friends for many reasons. The Mocks invented some new Carcassonne jargon. Mock referred to a card played without a follower attached to it as an "orphaned" tile. Mrs. Mock determined that one of her monks was a Hare Krishna. Mock won - beginners luck...

Next, we set up a more child-oriented, cooperative mystery game (title?) in anticipation of the kids joining us. Wouldn't you know it, they begged off, leaving us to solve the mystery on our own! What gives?

Finally, homeward. It was a great day but I was exhausted, in bed by 9:30 - quite early for me.

On the broomball front, we lost again, 3-0, but we played hard. I took three spills in the span of about 5 minutes. The first time, I banged up my shin. The second time, I was wounded in pride only. The third time, I landed hard on my backside and was genuinely worried for a moment that perhaps I'd broken my tailbone. I didn't. Three days later, I'm healing just fine. I actually managed to play some afterward, though I sat for the entire third period. There's talk of playoffs this coming weekend but I've heard no official word yet.

Family Adventures: General Tsao's Chicken

We got a tree this weekend!


We went to Joyce's Noodle House in Essex Junction for lunch on Sunday. Just as I have a standard order in a diner (club sandwich if they have it, a burger if they don't), I also have one for Chinese restaurants: General Tsao's chicken (Joyce's spelling). I thought back to when it first became my go-to dish. For as much time as I have spent in Asia and such cosmopolitan cities as DC and New York, one might be surprised that I trace my Chinese culinary sensibilities to a small town in Iowa.

As discussed previously, I went to college in Iowa, in a town so small that it didn't even have a McDonald's at the time. (It does now) Every comedian who came to perform on campus would have a joke about the fact that we didn't have a McDonald's. Restaurant options in general were limited. But the summer before my senior year, a Chinese place opened. Dining hall food was actually reasonably decent as institutional fare goes but by senior year, everything tasted the same. Fiscally disciplined during my first three years, I allowed myself an occasional splurge for take out in my final year.

There wasn't anything overwhelming about their General Tso's chicken (their spelling). In fact, as far as I could tell, it was exactly the same recipe as their sesame chicken but with hot red peppers added. Those peppers made all the difference. I couldn't get enough. I have a very pleasant memory of enjoying my GTC in a lawn chair I'd dragged outside so I could watch the sunset while I ate. Sunsets on the prairie are well worthy of extra appreciation.

However, the very best Chinese food I had in Iowa was not in our town but in nearby and only slightly larger Newton. China King is well worth the detour if you're driving across the Midwest on I-80. Online reviews are highly amusing as few seem capable of believing that such high-quality Asian food exists in so unlikely a place. They had a sizzling rice soup I've never seen anywhere else and it was absolutely divine.

Oh, Newton had a McDonald's, too.

Following up on an earlier post, Our Girl seems to have settled on a new default toy store: Learning Express, also in Essex Junction. It has always been our best bet for Hello Kitty gear but otherwise, I have found them to be pricey compared to local indies. However, twice this past weekend, it was the store she requested: once for a birthday gift for a friend and once for herself.

In broomball news, we had our first game in a month on Friday night. We fought hard but still lost 3-0. One of our number got into a bit of a tussle on the ice - not quite what I had in mind when I signed on for this, I have to admit. We only have one more regular season game to go.

Family Adventures: Birds

Every fall, once we're fairly certain the bears are down for the winter, we put up our bird feeders. We learned the hard way about the bears. One day, I looked out the front window and saw a fuzzy face looking back at me. Sure enough: a mother black bear and three cubs, feasting away on sunflower seeds from our hopper feeder. So, from April to October, no feeders at our house.

My Wife suggested a new tradition this year: put up the feeders together as a family in the morning, then pie for breakfast. The ritual had a bit of a monastic feel, all of us outside in our bathrobes. We're starting with a simple set up this year with two tube feeders - one with black oil sunflower seeds (left), one with thistle (right) - and one suet feeder.


We also have a peanut feeder we may add at some point. We need a new hopper feeder, too. The turkeys destroyed the one we had last year. The pie was from Poorhouse Pies, our local pie shed.

We love backyard birding for many reasons. Winter hobbies are essential around here. It's very important to have something to look forward to as days get shorter and colder. I also enjoy being reminded that the woods surrounding our home are teeming with life and that we can make a modest contribution to sustaining it. Thus you can understand our disappointment when no birds showed up - not a single customer all day! We're sure to get plenty over the course of the winter but we couldn't help wondering if something has decimated our local chickadee population. (We suspect a neighborhood cat!) Have we done something to offend?

While we're waiting for our feathered guests to arrive, some bird humor:


We lost in broomball, 4-0. We played hard, though, especially in a 0-0 first period. We're off for the rest of the month, then two more regular season games. There's talk of renting ice time for practice.

In happier news, the high school in the town where I teach won the girls' state soccer title on Saturday, their third in four years. Orange Man is their proud, first-year coach. Seemingly half the town was at the game - good times.

Follow Up: Orioles Hire a GM

The avian orioles are long gone from Vermont at this point, off to some tropical paradise for the winter. We've thought of putting up an oriole feeder but when we found our hummingbird feeder on the ground with a long black hair on it, we knew a local bear had a sweet tooth.


Photo via Casa Panama

The baseball Orioles have just hired a new general manager: Dan Duquette, former GM of both the Red Sox and Expos. He has the sort of credentials the Birds were supposedly seeking: significant experience in scouting and player development. He's a bit too old guard for my tastes but if the search process taught us anything, it's that the Orioles aren't the first choice employer for many baseball people. Ownership is still the overarching problem. Peter Angelos is a difficult man with a definite ceiling as to how much he's willing to spend on this team. Buck Showalter, while a talented manager, is a highly opinionated man himself. Now the team has added a GM with reputed interpersonal shortcomings. If the GM hiring adventure is any indication, it will be rough going for Baltimore in the free agent market as well. Even millionaires care about working conditions.


Photo via BostonHerald.com

But I'll take a new beginning where I can get it. As my daughter always says, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. Perhaps in his time away from the Majors, Duquette has uncovered the mysteries of the universe. Here's hoping.

Family Adventures: Halloween Weekend

There was nothing to do except to give the weekend over to Halloween. We had three parties in total: two kid-only affairs and one for all of us. Our Girl had one party through her after-school program and one at her dance school. We were all invited for a shindig at Blue Liner's house. Our Girl is a black spider this year. We went along as two bugs caught in her web.


Photo via George Takei's Facebook page

A friend shared this photo and it's only right I should pass it onward. Our Girl and I just finished "Riddles in the Dark" this weekend, the Hobbit chapter in which Bilbo finds the ring. I'll do a full review once we finish the book but what an outstanding chapter! If Gollum isn't the greatest character in fantasy literature, he's in very exclusive company.

Mock predicted an epic broomball game this weekend and it was... for the other team. We got hammered, 8-0. After the blood bath, four of us headed to a local watering hole and had a bit of a chalk talk with napkins, salt shakers and so forth. We have three games left. Surely, we can manage at least one win.

Family Adventures: Montpelier

Montpelier is, of course, our state capitol. It is the smallest state capitol in the country by population and the only one without a McDonald's. Ever since we first moved to Vermont, Montpelier has been one of our favorite day trip spots. Among other charms, it has a couple of great independent bookstores and the best Thai restaurant in the state: The Royal Thai Orchid. It seemed the perfect place to spend a gray, rainy autumn Saturday.

Much to our disappointment, the Thai restaurant was closed and will be until November 17th (lesson learned: should have called ahead). But seriously, if you're in the area and hankering for Thai cuisine, you can do no better in the Green Mountain state. We've looked. If the crispy duck special is on the menu, order it!

It was but a minor setback. Naturally, there are other options in town. We settled on The Skinny Pancake: a fine choice, as luck would have it. The company also has a location in Burlington plus a cart on Church Street, Burlington. The restaurant bills itself as "a unique creperie and coffee shop committed to nourishing localvore values in Vermont." It was tempting to sit around eating crepes all afternoon but they were a little too pricy for that. We each ordered savory classics. I had the Deja Vu which was pleasantly breakfasty. My Wife had the Lumber Jack which had a wonderful barbecue sauce on the side. I got a great whiff of it as soon as our server put the plate down on the table.

Then on to the bookstores, first Bear Pond Books for new books. My ladies sought and found a sewing book for kids, a new, sudden interest of Our Girl's. Then Rivendell Books, the second-hand shop. I got to point out the Tolkien connection for Our Girl, which was fun.

We lost in broomball on Friday but we played well and fought hard, a well-earned 2-1 result. We had few subs so I was exhausted by the end but we played real positions for the first time in my tenure, I on defense for most of the game with my partner in crime, whom we shall call Blue Liner. My mind has been working on schemes for our next game. In watching the other team, one of our number discovered the secret to harder shots on goal, too: hitting the ball with the edge of the blade. We need to work on that one, I think.

Family Adventures: The Dismembered Green Panda

We are in search of a new standby toy store. Our default store to this point has recently moved to a new, smaller space and I was highly disappointed in our quest for a birthday present for one of Our Girl's friends. I won't name the store, partly because I still hope they'll turn things around and partly because I can't afford the bad karma. Our Girl has always been a huge fan of stuffed animals and this store had the most dependable variety. Want a grey cat? They'd have five to choose from and be sure to have just the right one. No longer.

So, when she came to me on Saturday morning distraught over a wounded Iwako eraser toy and eager for a replacement, it seemed an appropriate time to take a closer look at another of our local shops.

We already knew Sewing Corner & Gifts (66 Vt. Rte. 15, Jericho, VT) was the best place for Iwako erasers. They specialize in Melissa & Doug toys, a very dependable brand. They're good for little trinkets, too. For a small shop, their stuffed animal assortment is impressive. And yes, they can handle your tailoring needs as well.

The wounded warrior:



The replacement (though we've encouraged her to keep the old one - a disability doesn't mean your life is over):



All of her new treasures, including, of course, the grey kitty she's been seeking:


After getting our weekly pick up from the CSA, we stopped by the Underhill Country Store (1 Pleasant Valley Rd., Underhill Center, VT) for deli sandwiches. I typically get their Moab sandwich (turkey, bacon, avocado, etc.) but this time I got the Captain Phillips hero (roast beef, swiss, loads of red onions, etc.).

All in all, a very productive outing.

We had a broomball game on Friday, another loss: 2-0. Even though we are in great need of refinement, I felt we all played pretty hard this time. I was happier with my own play but I could do better if I know more about where I'm supposed to be when. There's talk of getting out the floor hockey sticks in our school gym sometime soon. Practice would be good, or at least a good chalk talk.

Family Adventures: Brooms and Hobbits

It's been a long time since I was last a member of an athletic team, not since college intramural basketball, I think. That was nearly 17 years ago. I haven't done the team sport thing as an adult much at all, and much to my own regret. While my athletic talents are modest at best, I enjoy playing anyway.


Photo (not us) via Madison on the Cheap

In my experience, it's relatively easy to get adolescent-to-young-adults on the same page in an athletic contest whereas it gets more complicated as we get older. On our broomball team, for instance, I'd say there's quite a range not only in talent and experience but also in competitive inclination. Some are eager to win in that way many children (okay, boys) are taught to seek some ill-defined sense of superiority. Others are just in it to have a good time. To my mind, both attitudes are just fine as long as you're willing to embrace them. If you want to win, learn to play, invest, be purposeful. If you don't really care about winning and just want to enjoy the affair as a social activity, make the most of that aspect. The trouble is when you have people of both inclinations on the same team or, perhaps even more complicating, when individuals are torn between the two desires.

Personally, I'm prepared to go in either direction. How's that for a cop out? It's the tweener state that drives me nuts. Forced to choose, I guess I'd rather invest in winning. More to the point, I think I'd genuinely enjoy learning to play well, win or lose. I did a little bit of research on the ol' Web and found this. I think it's as good a place as any to start.

Oh, we lost again: 5ish-1. We have a bye this coming weekend.


Image via WhatCulture!

On the home front, Our Girl and I got started on The Hobbit this past week. So far, we're averaging about four pages a night so we should be able to knock it out in a few months. We've done longer chapter books before - the first three Narnia books, for instance. She seems to be enjoying it so far.

Family Adventures: Broomball and Harvest Market

After dinner at The Village Cup on Friday, I headed into Burlington for my first ever broomball game. A teacher team was formed last year and Mock finally talked me into giving it a try. It was fun, if humbling. Moving around the ice is quite a challenge in itself. I wiped out at least twice. Trying to change directions was my constant undoing. I assume I'll get the hang of basic movement with practice but it almost felt like an anxiety dream at times. I could see where I needed to go and what I should do once I got there but just...couldn't...get there...quickly...enough...

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed we don't use actual brooms - more like aluminum and plastic broom frames with no bristles. They are, no doubt, more practical than real brooms would be but it would be fun to try it with the real thing sometime. Alas, we lost: 4-0, I think. But a fine time was had by all, self included.

The big event in our community this past weekend was the Harvest Market, a combination garage sale, concert, playground and carny food emporium. We fulfilled our municipal obligation by spending most of Saturday there. I usually take the opportunity to pick up cheap used videos but didn't find anything I couldn't live without. Wife and daughter both found some fine treasures. Our Girl paid all of $2 for this perfectly nice dollhouse:


More from the Harvest Market:

Rock Stars: Swedish World Domination

I just turned to My Wife and said, "You'll be delighted to know that Sweden has won the Women's World Curling Championship."

She replied, "I am sure that their minimalist furniture aesthetic carried over into their curling prowess."

I sure married the right woman.


Photo via Associated Press

The Swedes were the class of the field in Esbjerg all week, grabbing the front-runner mantle early and never looking back. This is skip Anette Norberg's third world title, a nice complement to her two Olympic gold medals. Norberg (pictured above) has a new team with her this season: Liselotta Lennartsson, Sara Carlsson, Cecilia Östlund and alternate Karin Rudström. Östlund was the skip of last year's Sweden representative and Lennartsson and Carlsson were on her rink. This year, Norberg recruited them all to join her.

Canada, skipped by Amber Holland, had a slow start to the week but finished strong, taking home the silver. China, led by 2009 world champion Wang Bingyu, took the bronze medal match over host Denmark. The hosts did well, apparently drawing respectable and enthusiastic crowds for their games. The Danes were led by Lene Nielsen, a first-time Danish national champion as a skip. Team USA turned in a perfectly respectable performance, going 6-5 on the week and finishing 7th.

As Mock noted in my previous curling post, we briefly considered a late-season curling venture. It was for a local charity event but it was $125 per person to enter, well beyond our price range. I'm not giving up on the idea entirely, though. I just think we should get an earlier jump on the season next year and seek out cheaper beginners' opitions. This is not to say that I'm not willing to give broomball a try.

The men's World Championship gets started on Saturday in Regina, Saskatchewan. I'm planning a preview post for Friday. As far as I can tell, neither dates nor location have been set for next year's championships, for either men or women.