That is - until the accident.
New Year's Day, 2010. Fresh, white, fluffy powder surrounds Munjoy Hill. Not a care in the world... and Jay and I decide today's adventure will include some serious sledding off the Eastern Promenade. I'm armed with my foam Millenium Falcon (which I prefer for speed and aerodynamics) and Jay is armed with his Big Blue Ho (yes, it says Ho on it and Jay loves it for the extra leg room and steering ability).
We bundle ourselves up - Jay even wears goggles - and make our way to the mountain.
It is BEAUTIFUL! Enough folks have sledded before us to make a slick, steep path where you can either veer righ (and hit abandonded XMas trees), veer left (and wind up in a marsh), or go straight on (and risk paralysis when you hit the oncoming picnic bench). Yes, it truly was going to be an adventure.
Off I go, wind in my face, laughter/screaming pouring forth from my oral cavity, and I managed to steer the Falcon right between the marsh and picnic bench for a safe landing.
Things didn't go so well for Jay.
He was totally stoked to abandon the Ho for the Falcon to try the hill with some serious speed. Off he went... with disasterous results. Having never taken a ride in the Millenium Falcon before, Jay was headed straight for the bench. A string of sh*tf*cksh*tf*ckf*cksh*t spewed forth from his mouth and every parent did their best to cover their little ones' ears.
Jay threw down his arms to slow down.... and came to a halt just before impact. Some would say he was lucky...
I would call him a crotchety, old man. You see, by tossing down his arms for brakes, he created an unneccessary pull on the muscle between his shoulder and neck. And now he can't turn his head without crying like a sissy, nanna girl. It's true - my man, my hero, my night in shining armor injured himself while sledding.
Big ol' baby.
On the upside, I've managed to clean, finish a book, and catch up on this blog. And, HUZZAH!, I was able to upload some photos! Enjoy!!!
Okay, up top you will see what frying Sufganyot looks like. My apartment smelled like HEAVEN for a week afterwards (and by heaven, I mean the stench of oil was in the air, and clogging my pours - I broke out like an adolescent!) and they were quite delish. This batch was my first attempt... they were supposed to puff up like golf balls, but because I tossed so many into the oil at once, they stayed all frisbee like.
Here's what they look like after 5 minutes in WICKED hot peanut oil. Why peanut oil? It can maintain the highest temperature before smoking. It's also really, really, really, really bad for you. But I figured, I'm makin' flippin donuts - is health my main concern? Also, I'm not entirely sure of:A. Whether or not the smoke detector works
B. If I did set something on fire, I can't find the fire extinguisher.
Jay is the bestest helper on the planet. As each piping hot donut frisbee was freed from its jacuzzi of boiling oil, Jay helped to cool them down by covering them in powdered sugar. Mmmmm....
And finally - after several attempts of making puffy Sufganyot and violating them with a spoonful o'jelly... IT WORKED (sort of)! Fried dough crammed with jelly and sprinkled in sugar is well worth the apartment stink, those "5 extra pounds", and feeling like a baked goods rapist.More to come in 2010! Happy New Year!!!
