ADVENTURE!

Friday was, yes, I admit it, my 33rd birthday. I have never before received as many e-cards as I did on Friday. Thank you all. I spent much of the day driving around the middle of Connecticut, playing my iPod through the car stereo, just taking in the sights. Mostly roadside rocks and water, with occasional diners of note that I will have to review another time. That night Mrs. Cupcakes and I went out for traditional sushi birthday dinner.

Saturday, Mrs. Cupcakes had a date with a pair of scissors, so I chauffered her to the spot and wandered around some more. Destination Wethersfield! And Historic Downtown Wethersfield at that! Old homes and businesses lined the streets.



Mustard House




Ketchup House




BooBerry House

Many of the homes had names and dates about when they were originally built.





Wethersfield is also home to the Hart's Seed Company, if you're familiar with them.





We had lunch at an Indian restaurant on the way home, Priya, featuring the always deliciously dangerous lunch buffet.

Sunday was a quest to see a movie that didn't suck. Our local theater was featuring things we had already seen or things we had no interest in seeing, so we headed south, toward New Haven. We saw "Transamerica", which was funnier than I had expected. Dark, touching, and funny I guess.

All in all a highly successful birthday weekend.

EWWW

EWWW, originally uploaded by doctorhectic.

A fine frozen weekend was had by all...

Looked cold on all the weather maps I saw. Anyway, some pictures for your enjoyment.



Our street corner.




So, now, tring to fit in here as I am, I have to walk downtown and push the button before I sin. Everytime.




Drama next door. I think it was elderly respiratory problems, but I can't be sure.




Good morning. Time for Godzillas.




They're gonna need a bigger boat kwikie mart.




On Saturday we drove to Mystic, CT, where they have more Irish pubs in one square mile than there are in all of the greater Hartford area. Here at John's they had leash holders...




...for dogs...




...and for cats. We should've brought Mouse.




Also in Mystic, a crazy old drawbridge. Featuring...




...the most unsafe looking counterweights I've ever seen.




We wanted to win the snowboard for Jenna, but it said you had to be present, not only for the drawing, but for every Thursday before the drawing for like a month. Nice idea. We had lunch and a beer and then meandered back home.




On Sunday we waited outside for another spectacular meal at O'Rourke's Diner. Cold, but well worth the wait. Even if they need a new sign.

Bicycles, Icicles, and mooncycles

Mrs. Cupcakes and I have been to the Freeman Athletic Center a few times in the last week, putting our slothy holiday bodies on the stationary bikes and attempting to get our heart rates up. The whole center is relatively new, and the facilities are really nice. We got a little workout just walking around the building, seeing where everything was, and it's open late on the weekends, in case we don't feel like drinking.

The snow is rapidly melting, after coating absolutely everything.



That was the "view" from one of our livingroom windows while it was snowing.

We did get some odd icicles as things started to melt. Kind of Dali-esque, me thinks.




And last, but not least, a little photo I like to call, "Moon over College Street".

UPDATE: Total accumulation 20 -30 inches

Glad we're on the second floor...








...the taillights are disappearing, the neighbor's cars are disappearing, and the roof looks like it has been frosted with a foot of buttercream. I mean 20 to 30 inches of buttercream...

city streets, good eats, & accumulation of 8 to 12 inches...

Pictures from Middletown wandering...













Last night Mrs. Cupcakes made a veggie shepherd's pie for dinner, and for dessert we had dark chocolate brownies (in-the-round!), along with special accompaniment.





B-rad's Mochachocolatatata Stout...





...and Glenkinchie scotch.





We were all settled in at home, waiting for the Nor'Easter to hit, but it got started pretty late. This is what I woke up to this morning, and it's definitely still coming down.





Those two lumps are Corollas. Not that we have anywhere to go today.

Library CDs and Olympic Ferrari Donuts

This week I checked out:

The Arcade Fire : Funeral
Aimee Mann : Whatever
Bright Eyes/Britt Daniel : Home Vol. IV
The Crystal Method : Legion of Boom
Pavement : Slanted and Enchanted
The Notwist : Neon Golden
Nick Drake : Five Leaves Left
Neko Case : Blacklisted
My Bloody Valentine : Loveless
Ted Hawkins : The Next Hundred Years

Good gracious that library has a nice selection...

SO, did everyone see the Olympic Ferrari Donuts? Part of the opening ceremonies was a pit crew that rose up out of the stage, with a Ferrari and driver, and after the engine was revved up and the car rolled itself to a nice opening on the enormous stage, the driver proceeded to whip a shitty and do donuts on the platform. It was incredible, hopefully bringing the world closer together in the spirit of ridiculous horsepower.

We're prepping here for our first official nor'easter this weekend. Up to a foot of snow is predicted, so we'll see what happens!

Silly quiz time!

As reported by Jenna, by way of Mrs. Cupcakes, What country are you?

You're the United Nations!

Most people think you're ineffective, but you are trying to
completely save the world from itself, so there's always going to be a long
way to go.  You're always the one trying to get friends to talk to each
other, enemies to talk to each other, anyone who can to just talk instead of
beating each other about the head and torso.  Sometimes it works and sometimes
it doesn't, and you get very schizophrenic as a result.  But your heart
is in the right place, and sometimes also in New York.


Take the Country Quiz.
at the Blue Pyramid

Synchronicity

Yesterday at 6:15 am, I read the following sentence:

"Joseph Frank Keaton died in his sleep at 6:15 Tuesday morning, February 1, 1966."

Which means that I finished reading a biography of Buster Keaton forty years to the day after he died. I mean, technically, he was in California when he died, so I should've slept in and finished the book at 9:15 am, but I still thought it was cool and kind of creepy to read that sentence, look up at the clock and realize it happened exactly forty years ago. Give or take a time zone.

With that book out of the way, I've started in on "Drink: A Social History of America", also from our fabulous local library. More on that as I get into it.

I also picked up more CDs:
No Doubt : The Singles Collection 1992 - 2003
Dizzee Rascal : Boy in Da Corner
Crystal Method : Legion of Boom
Ike Reilly : Salesmen and Racists
Ted Hawkins : The Next Hundred Years

AND I visited a local letterpress studio that produces art books, which was crazy cool to see. Made me wanna come home and get my art on. But I didn't.

But I will.