Saturday, February 24, 2018

Familiar Faces

I've been running out of good things to watch on Netflix lately (suggestions welcome), so I'm down to shows I wouldn't ordinarily have watched past the first episode. I'm in the middle of Gotham right now, sort of a prequel to the Batman series, where we get to see all the familiar characters before they became iconic. The dialogue and cinematography are done in a comic book style, which makes it feel rather juvenile despite the blood, gore, and swearing, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't love comic books to begin with, but for me, it has one wonderful thing going for it: familiar faces.

I grew up watching Doctor Who. While Peter Davison was my favorite doctor (both because of how he interpreted the role, but also because I loved him as Tristan on All Creatures Great and Small), Jon Pertwee was a close second, with his floppy perm and velvet suit. Jon's son, Sean Pertwee, is also an actor, and while he tends to play grizzly, sharp, angry characters, he shows up in Gotham as Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler. The character starts out a little rough, but becomes quite the endearing father figure, and every time Sean smiles, I see his father, and it warms my heart.

Gotham is full of other familiar faces, even if they're only around for an episode or two. Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) shows up as Penguin's father, which made me giggle, and Morena Baccarin, who played Inara on Firefly, gets a lot of screen time as Gotham's medical examiner. Apparently one of my all-time favorites, Alexander Siddig, shows up in season 4, but I think Netflix only has three seasons available right now, so I may have to wait a while for that treat.

For a show about a comic book series, done in a style I don't particularly care for, I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would, thanks in large part to the work of the casting director.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Poorhouse Pies

On a quiet country road in Underhill, Vermont, there's a little self-service pie stand. If you don't know to look for it, you might not see it at all, but if you know about it and can find a place to park, you're in for a treat.

My sister and I made our way to Poorhouse Pies yesterday, went a little crazy (because, with the wide variety of flavors, how do you choose?), and came home with four boxes of yumminess.


My "compensation" for helping navigate was a big slice of each flavor. Nice work if you can get it, right?

Top left is Raspberry-Peach Crumb Pie, one of their "combo" flavors. I think I would've liked it better if a) the raspberries had been strained to eliminate the seeds, b) if the balance of flavors had leaned a little more toward the peach side, and c) the crumb topping had been applied with a slightly lighter hand (alternately, a little more of the fruit filling). That said, it's seriously yummy. Good crust, good firmness (I hate sloppy pies, and this one held itself together quite well), and good crumb topping.

Top right is Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie. The raspberry is tart, the chocolate is dark, the cheesecake is creamy, the crust is crumbly... it's almost perfect. As with the last one, I'd prefer it without the raspberry seeds, but even so, it's a fantastic pie.

Bottom right is Key Lime Pie. There are two things I look for in key lime pie: tart, sock-you-in-the-face flavor, and NOT GREEN. This pie is perfection. No food coloring, not too sweet, potent lime flavor, crumbly crust, utterly wonderful. This will be one we go back for next time.

Bottom left is Maple Cream Pie, which was our choice after a coin toss between that and Chocolate Cream (which we'll get next time, if it's available). Y'know how maple sugar candy tastes? This pie tastes like that, only creamy instead of gritty. It's got that super-strong maple sugar flavor, almost too strong for me, but I'm a little wishy-washy about maple in certain forms, so that's just me. The consistency is perfect, the whipped cream topping cuts the sweetness a little (yay!), and the crust is lovely.

All in all, these pies are worth the drive. We'll definitely be going back at some point, trying other flavors (I'm hoping for Blueberry-Peach next time), and spreading the word. If you're within an hour or two, go check them out. You won't be disappointed.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Thaw

Today is one of those days where the cats and I take turns jumping out of our skins every time a chunk of snow falls off the roof. We got about a foot of snow last week, but now it's warmed up considerably, so everything is melting and releasing its hold on whatever it landed on. My driveway is a puddle on top of ice.

But hey, with the forecast saying it'll be warm-ish the rest of the week, maybe I'll get out to my shop and do some window work.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Getting A Feel For The Place

One of the things I like about renting from an out-of-town landlord is that, when it comes time to show my house to prospective tenants, sometimes I get to do the showings myself. Having spent four years in this house, I know its strong points and its quirks, and I enjoy playing tour guide.

Today I did a second showing for the couple who will probably take it, and it went really well until just before the end. The husband asked the wife what sort of feeling she got from the place. She sighed heavily, gave a sort of wan, apologetic smile, made eye contact with me, and said, "loneliness."

Sad to say, she was right on the money.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Solid

It's hard to pour cream into your tea when the cream is frozen solid.

It might be time to call my landlord about a new refrigerator.