The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

GOOD NEWS: We received a letter from South Seattle College in the mail yesterday. It was addressed to Christian, but since CJ attends the school, I figured it was actually for him. 

I handed it to him and he oh-so-carefully opened it. (Seriously, it took like five minutes.) I was thinking it was probably a bill of some sort. 

Fortunately, I was wrong. Instead, it was his first-ever, "You've made the dean's list" letter.

Good going, CJ!

BAD NEWS: The first news story I read this morning was terribly disappointing.  The headline on the CNN Business article read, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, built to carry astronauts, faces new safety concerns."

Ruh-roh.

Sure, we knew about the 'anomaly' on the demonstration flight of the Boeing Starliner in December, when misfired due to the capsule's internal clock being 11 hours off, causing its thrusters to misfire and send it off course. (I'm still scratching my head at that one, to be honest.)

NASA has just announced they're launching a full-scale safety review on Starliner, due to "numerous instances where the Boeing software quality processes either should have or could have uncovered the defects."

Space News reported that a separate software problem was disclosed at a public meeting on Thursday. This deficiency could have caused a "catastrophic failure," they reported. While Boeing  identified and corrected the error before it impacted Starliner's behavior, it's still super concerning that it happened int he first place. 

There's was supposed to be a joint Boeing/NASA press conference today. We'll see what that news brings. We tried to tune in at 12:30 our time to listen, but it wasn't on any of NASA's channels. Not sure what's up with that. ...

At this point, it's looking almost certain that SpaceX is beating Boeing in the quest to return manned spaceflight to America's space program.

WORK IN PROGRESS: We've got another Birthday Dreams cake project in the works here. The recipient is a 12 year old girl who wants a galaxy cake ... and she loves Godzilla. "We have to do that," Annabelle declared upon reading the 'help wanted' post.

So we're in the midst of building an astronaut Godzilla. Yesterday, Annabelle made modeling chocolate and started sculpting his skeleton (which will be covered in fondant).

Another one of the elements we're going to need is a space suit helmet. 

We have a little experience with gelatin balloons from a previous Birthday Dreams project. This time, though, we need the balloons to be clear, and that's a little trickier. We did a fair amount of research and found that our best bet is likely using "platinum" gelatin sheets, to produce the most clear globe possible. 

A post on the gelatin-producer's website takes people through the process step-by-step.

One of the things we learned on their site is that transparent sheet gelatin is graded from lowest to highest gelling power and purity: titanium, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. "The gelling power is also known as the gelatin’s 'bloom strength,' named after Oscar Bloom, who patented the first test for measuring the thickening properties of gelatin. The higher the bloom strength, the greater the gelling capacity of a given amount of gelatin in the same amount of liquid," the Kitchen Alchemy site interestingly informs. 

We went for platinum-grade sheets because it has the highest bloom strength and greatest gelling power. 

Another interesting gelatin factoid: The gelatin has to be hydrated in cold water before being dissolved in hot liquid. "This process of hydration is referred to as “blooming” the gelatin. However, blooming has no relation to Oscar Bloom or bloom strength. Yes, we agree, it’s a little confusing," notes Kitchen Alchemy. "But now you know."

They also have a video about topping cupcakes with gelatin snowglobes. If you're so inclined, you can watch it below.


So, having now actually followed the website's written and video instructions, all I can said is, "Are you kidding me?" It didn't work at all. It was a frickin' hot mess - literally. 

To our eyes, it looked like the sugar never really dissolved all of the way in the gelatin. It was a cloudy mess (and got worse when we poked at it, not better). Thank god I said to Annabelle we were only going to make half a batch (because I wanted back up supplies in case it didn't work). 

After the total fail, we both hopped back online looking for alternative instructions. Fortunately, we found some on another website, Sugar Hero! She used gelatin sheets, but bloomed them for longer, and then put them and a little bit of water right into a saucepan (instead of using a double boiler). This melted nicely was was crystal clear. 

We dipped lightly-greased balloons into the gelatin - three coats for each one. And now, we wait. Sunday morning we'll find out if it worked, or it is a delayed disaster.

Sauerkraut and Stories

FERMENTING: On Tuesday evening, Annabelle and I attended a class about fermenting. I think I found out about it via a Facebook post from the City of Renton. We were actually lucky to get a seat in the class - there was only space for 25, and one of the organizers said the waiting list was another 25 long. I guess people are interested in fermenting.

The class announcement read, "Come learn to preserve food with only a little salt and water! This workshop will provide you with a basic working knowledge of how to brine ferment your own vegetables.

The kefir fermentation of dairy products will also be discussed and demonstrated. All participants will have the opportunity to prepare their own jar of brined veggies to take home and enjoy. Kefir grains will be available for those interested in fermenting their own dairy at home."

The class was held at Renton Technical College, about a 15 minute drive from our house during rush hour, which it was. It was dark, and the campus was pretty big, but we managed to find the building the class was in. Once in the building, though, we weren't sure where to go. Participants had been asked to bring their own knives, so I said to Annabelle, "Look for people with knives, and follow them!" That is not normally advice I'd give her.

All of the necessary ingredients were provided for us, which was nice. What was not quite as wonderful, is that we were all invited to come up to the front of the demonstration kitchen and grab what we wanted. I'm a little bit of a clean freak when it comes to prepping food, and I wasn't wild about everyone and their god-knows-where-those-have-been hands pawing all over everything.

A volunteer from Sustainable Renton led the class. It started off with an explanation of what kefir (pronounced key-fur) is (fermented milk) and samples were offered.

Now, I'm not much of a milk drinker to begin with, but I was willing to give it a go.

Annabelle, however, was not. Not after the look I got on my face after trying it, and what I said to go along with it. "Tastes like someone poured vinegar into milk," I described, grimacing.

So, we're not going to be kefir producers any time soon.

Sample number two was MUCH better. Some fermented green beans. They were snappy, spicy, and super garlic-y. Delicious! 

The host, who is apparently a chemist by trade, told us all sorts of things about fermenting. For instance, he claimed "Fermented food is medicine." He said he's a gleaner, and basically lives off of food other people throw away. 

He's also a bit of a mold advocate. "Mold isn't all bad," he insisted. He said the only kind that will kill you if you eat it is some bright pink strain from South America. I'm not sure I'd take that assertion  to the bank. 

Eventually, we were invited down to the demonstration kitchen to grab things to put into our jars. (All of the food and even the jars were provided, which was nice.)  Annabelle went for mostly cabbage, hoping to make a sauerkraut. In the photo below, she's adding brine to her jar.

I grabbed whatever I could. Each of our jars were topped with a lettuce leaf that acts like a cap, of sorts. Now, we wait for the fermentation process to work its magic.

If it turns out OK, we'll be making lots more fermented veggies! (We owe a big THANK YOU to Aunt Ruthie for giving us a bunch of big jars that will be perfect for it!)

WET WEATHER CONTINUES: Have I mentioned how dreary it has been around Seattle this winter? Yes, I thought so. I've mentioned it multiple times. But it's really just so oppressive. Another week of rain here, complete with flooding and landslides around. On Tuesday, we even had about three hours worth of snowfall. 

The t-rex didn't seem to mind, and it didn't bother Bexley, either (we're cat sitting).

Kirby and Laika weren't big fans, though.

MORE STORIES: Storytelling continues to be a theme in CJ's English class. As part of his homework this week, he was to listen to a short story by cousins James Ransom and Cherie Johnson, who were recalling their fearsome Sunday school teacher, Miss Lizzie Devine. We really enjoyed it.

You can hear it here: https://youtu.be/KQF79ch6mA8

The story is part of StoryCorps, which has been working since 2003 to help preserve the stories of more than half a million people of all backgrounds and beliefs. 

Up to the Challenge

DEFIANT: Last week, one of CJ's English assignments was to write about a place that makes him uncomfortable. And so, we went to the gym. 

Generally speaking, this gym is a place CJ enjoys. But there are a couple aspects of it that make him uncomfortable. I'll have him tell you the story.

For the past few months, I have been going to a local gym named Defy. You won’t find any treadmills or weights here, though. Defy’s central attractions are the elaborate trampoline setups, including a very large grid of trampolines in the center of the area. The gym also proudly features an obstacle course on par with American Ninja Warrior. The entire back half of the gym is an expansive grid of trampolines. I've long since become familiar with the primary trampoline array, and it’s where I spend most of my time. However, it’s not the only attraction Defy has to offer its guests.

In the northwest corner of the gym are the “Supertramps,” named after the iconic British band from the 1970s. The Supertramps are equipped with more springs than standard trampolines, and they are next to walls that visitors can bounce on to. During numerous visits, I tried and tried to get up on the wall, but each attempt was fruitless. Even at the most recent visit, it was a struggle for me to get up the eight-foot wall. I sweatily jumped, fruitlessly bouncing on the trampoline in hopes of getting the height necessary to ascend the wall. After several desperate attempts, I finally reached the top. But it gets worse.

The real uneasiness for me came from coming down. Again, there are only about eight feet from the Supertramp on the floor to the top of the wall. But since I’m six feet tall, it looked like over a story from my perspective. At age sixteen, I pitifully called for my middle-aged mother to come rescue me. She awkwardly assisted me back down. It wasn’t exactly my proudest moment. At this point, my choices were never going up on the wall again, or managing to descend independently. On my most recent visit to Defy, I was determined to go alone. I scaled the wall on my first attempt, and then clumsily lowered myself back down. This wasn’t very graceful either, but it was a step up (no pun intended) from my mommy coming to save me. After two or three trips up and down the wall, I was able to get off and on it without hesitation.

Near the front of Defy is the “Tower.” Above a massive, inflatable pillow are three ledges, each three feet up from the one below. The first ledge is about four feet off the pillow. Jumpers are told to land on either their butts or their backs. Kids half my age taking the plunge off the Tower, even at its highest, is a common sight. The ledges may not appear very intimidating to onlookers, but it was quite a bit different to me, as the jumper. At previous visits to Defy, I frequently climbed up the Tower’s staircase, but I always chickened out and shamefully slogged down the stairs. However, at this visit, I nearly leaped off the middle ledge about seven times before finally making the rear-first plunge. Fortunately, after my first dive down, I quickly got the hang of it, though it was still a little uncomfortable. (Here's some video of that: https://youtu.be/9EMtYazpFb4)

However, I was not yet satisfied. The third and highest ledge still awaited. Thankfully, Defy wasn’t busy that day, so I had plenty of shots at making the leap during my brief visit.

I was trembling with fear at the topmost ledge. My family cheered me on from the floor, but I shamefully walked down the stairs multiple times. We were about to leave, but I chose to attempt a leap one more time. After shakily ascending the stairs leading to the top ledge, I made a hop of faith, down on my butt, to the pillow. I survived, and I overcame my fear. (Video of the bigger jump https://youtu.be/587BIJCOcMI .)

But I wasn’t done yet. I made a point to take a short ride on Defy’s zipline attraction. When a staff member is manning the station, visitors are encouraged to take a ride on the zipline, over a sea of foam blocks. The last time I tried to use the zipline, I almost instantly dropped like a sack of concrete, before crawling from the pit with bloodied hands. This time, I zipped over the field of foam, and crawled out stronger for it.

All in all, it was a good day at Defy. I literally overcame obstacles, and I probably won’t have difficulty with them in the future. My future visits are going to be more fun, because there aren’t as many barriers for me.  (Here's his zipline trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq2ImQnVLW0&feature=youtu.be

Meanwhile, Annabelle keeps working away on her to do list. She continues to make progress traversing the climbing wall. 

SOLEMN STOP: Saturday afternoon we were headed up Airport Way with me in the driver's seat. When we were passing The Museum of Flight, I pulled into a parking lot on the west side of the main building. Christian and the kids asked me what I was doing, and I reminded them that it was February 1, the anniversary of the loss of space shuttle Columbia in 2003. The museum has a wonderful statue of Michael P. Anderson, a Washington resident and NASA astronaut, who was lost in the disaster.  

We paused for a moment to pay our respects.

SUPER SUNDAY: The Super Bowl was Sunday. Even though we had just one guest over for the game, we still marked the big game with some themed food. We made clam chowder from scratch and served it with sourdough bread as a nod to San Francisco, the NFC team in the game. We made Kansas City style ribs as a nod to the Kansas City Chiefs. Kennedy brought bierocks, a Missouri staple, per the Internet. Annabelle and I worked together on a key lime cheesecake (since the big game was being played in Miami).

We (unfortunately) chose to use the recipe from a video I found on YouTube. It claims the cheesecake a "1st Place Winner!!!"

I claim it's not fit for a consolation prize. 

We are pretty experienced makers and bakers, and followed the instructions to a t. 

What a mess. The sides of the cheesecake stuck terribly to the pan (yes, we greased it), and the cheesecake was "curdy," for lack of a better descriptor. It tasted mostly OK, but it was super disappointing, overall.

MAKER: Monday morning Annabelle awoke and declared she was going to build a piano.

And that's what she did, using dozens and dozens of parts from a Nintendo Labo kit. 

She worked away, quietly and independently. It took her a little over an hour to finish the build. Then, she had to put it to the test. 

As you can see and hear, it worked quite well!

POST SCRIPT:  I had this (rather lengthy) blog all done last night. And upon clicking "Publish,"  the whole darn post disappeared, including saved drafts. Sigh.