Surviving Sandy..

After living by candle light, sleeping by the fireplace, eating peanuts and beef jerky, we are finally returning to normal. We lost power on Monday October 29th around 5:08pm, we had not anticipated losing power so when the lights went out we figured it would only be for a short while, we sat tight but packed our bags just in case. That night, Hurricane Sandy turned into a significant wind event with a bit of rain, the wind howled and it was as if the trees swayed from sky to ground and back. We all sat in one room by the fireplace and eventually fell asleep there. In the morning, we could see the results were bad but we didn't think it would have the effect that it did. The husband and my daughter stepped out to get coffee and something to eat which took them a while, meanwhile got on my phone to read the news and began to see the sheer devastation Sandy had left behind in places like part of New Jersey, Staten Island, Lower Manhattan and Connecticut. There were quite a lot of fallen trees and power lines around here, my neighbor had a tree through his roof and was out trying to cut it out, people were out looking for wood, generators, gas for their cars but many roads were closed.

We sat around for while that day, carved pumpkins and even cleaned the house up but then the temperature began to drop, the refrigerator began to melt and we got worried. My mum, sisters and nephew had already moved into my older sisters home because her power had returned so we called and asked to move some important perishables into her freezer and figured we could hang out, eat dinner there and come home later..to a home with power. That was not the case, our home remained dark until this morning...Saturday. Luckily, she had a spare room for us with a twin bed and air mattress to share. As each day passed and we still had no power we began to make daily trips home to get more clothing and something we might have forgotten. We went trick or treating on Halloween night, we cooked meals, talked and laughed, it turned out to be a really unplanned vacation of sorts. The kids had now school so they played all day and night,  it was like Christmas break  in October. So much so that I decided it might be a good time to try to ween Evalie and get her to take a bottle (from mum or my sister), unfortunately that only resulted in her crying and not eating. This morning as we packed up to return home, the sun was out, the skies were bright and there was a warmth to the crisp fall air. It felt like we had emerged from hiding..it felt surreal. But we're home and everything is calm..so far the only worry is our missing cat but he tends to return in time.

Italy Series: Northern region// Brion Cemetery-Carlo Scarpa

The window of the pavilion of meditation is in the form of a vesica piscis, a repeated leitmotif in Scarpa's architecture.

After a few days in Venice and almost getting thrown out of our hostel because of how loud the students were all night, we boarded the bus to Vicenza. Before we actually made it to venice we took a detour and made two stops; one at the Brion Cemetery is in San Vito d'Altivole near Treviso whose addition was designed by Carlo Scarpa, and the second stop was at the Museo Gipsoteca Antonio Canova in Possagno also by Scarpa. The cemetery was designed for the Brion family, and is tucked away in an lush landscape, you actually can't see it until you actually arrive at the entrance.

Looking over the wall 

Entrance to Cemetery

The cemetery is an exemplary work of Scarpa, it includes the burial tombs, highly detailed semi- enclosed structures, water features and an island which is inaccessible to the public. Its materially a bit brutal but the cuts, slits, striations and transitions change ones perception of the space. At certain moments, there is a change in materiality to a more translucent material of to a metal. Openings are treated very carefully, the frame views or the viewer and concentrates light. Its relationship to its surrounding is almost one of a camouflaging, the walls are just below the height of the vegetation around but within, it complements the structure, provides shades while the water is reflective. 

Scarpa's resting place

One of the family tombs

Material transitions

detail of water feature

 

Canova 

Scarpa's hall exterior- protruding window box.

Scarpa was born in Venice. Much of his early childhood was spent in Vicenza, where his family relocated when he was 2 years old. After his mother's death when he was 13, he, his father and brother moved back to Venice. Carlo attended the Academy of Fine Arts where he focused on architectural studies. Graduated from the Accademia in Venice, with the title of Professor of Architecture, he apprenticed with the architect Francesco Rinaldo. Scarpa married Rinaldo's niece, Nini Lazzari (Onorina Lazzari).

However, Scarpa refused to sit the pro forma professional exam administrated by the Italian Government after World War II. As a consequence, he was not permitted to practice architecture without associating with an architect. Hence, those who worked with him, his clients, associates, craftspersons, called him "Professor", rather than "architect".

His architecture is deeply sensitive to the changes of time, from seasons to history, rooted in a sensuous material imagination. He was Mario Botta's thesis adviser along with Giuseppe Mazzariol; the latter was the Director of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia when Scarpa completed his renovation and garden for that institution. Scarpa taught drawing and Interior Decoration at the Istituto universitario di architettura di Venezia from the late 1940s until his death. While most of his built work is located in the Veneto, he made designs of landscapes, gardens, and buildings, for other regions of Italy as well as Canada, the United States, Saudi Arabia, France and Switzerland. His name has 11 letters and this is used repeatedly in his architecture.[2]

One of his last projects, left incomplete at the time of his death, was recently altered (October 2006) by his son Tobia: the Villa Palazzetto in Monselice. This work is one of Scarpa's most ambitious landscape and garden projects, the Brion Sanctuary notwithstanding. It was executed for Aldo Businaro, the representative for Cassina who is responsible for Scarpa's first trip to Japan. Aldo Businaro died in August 2006, a few months before the completion of the new stair at the Villa Palazzetto, built to commemorate Scarpa's centenary.

In 1978, while in Sendai, Japan, Scarpa died after falling down a flight of concrete stairs. He survived for ten days in a hospital before succumbing to the injuries of his fall. He is buried standing up and wrapped in linen sheets in the style of a medieval knight, in a private, semi-hidden alcove in the inside corner of his L-shaped Brion-Vega Cemetery at San Vito d'Altivole in the Veneto..(..via)

Jollof Rice

As a child, I probably had Jollof rice every Sunday afternoon for lunch after church, it is one of my favorite things to eat and even though its a pretty simple yet versatile recipe, its taken me a long time to actually perfect a recipe that's comparable to the one my mom would prepare. As usual my recipes are adjusted for simplicity and some of the ingredients here are a bit different than those we would have in Nigeria. Its similar to many other "single pot" recipes like Arroz con Pollo, Jambalaya, Risotto etc. but is known for its spicy taste and bright orange color. One of my American friends who took a liking to it  referred to it as a pizza rice! Anyway, it is made here with vegetables so its suitable for a vegetarian dish but one can add proteins such as chicken, shrimp or scallops. Obviously the addition of these will slightly alter the taste. Also one can use chicken stock instead of water but I would make sure its salt free or reduce the salt you add to the recipe. My mother also uses tomato paste in addition to the Petite diced tomatoes but I actually like mine a bit light on the tomato so I don't.

Ingredients

5 cups of Jasmine rice (I like the fragrance of this but regular long grain rice is fine as well)
28 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1/2 red pepper (diced)
1/2 green pepper (diced)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups mixed vegetables such as corn, peas, Lima beans etc. (fresh, frozen or canned)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 teaspoons Nigerian pepper (substitute with cayenne)- reduce to regulate spiciness

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 maggi cubes ( or 1 Maggie rectangle)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in pot on high heat. (adjust depending on your range)
2. Add diced tomatoes and fry for 8 minutes
3. Reduce heat, add rice and butter mix in completely.
4. Add diced red and green peppers.
5. Add water (reduce by 1/2 cup if using frozen vegetable) and increase heat until it comes to a boil.
6. Turn down, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Check rice, it should be al Dente.
8. Add mixed vegetables and a bit more water (depending on your taste) 
9. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.
10. Serve with dodo (fried plantain), and/or baked chicken, side salad, moi-moi etc.

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Stormy days...

So the Northeast is expecting a hurricane and to be rained out for the next two days with some high winds and possible flooding. We've been told to stay home, schools and offices are closed, there isn't a D battery or flashlight left anywhere in sight. Some roads are being blocked off, zones are being evacuated, the MTA, NJTransit trains and Light rail are closed and buses are parked. We both received calls from the emergency management systems from work noting closings for Monday and Tuesday but as of this moment we barely have gotten any rain. Its a bit windy but just enough to send the leaves twirling off the trees. Its certainly a huge turnaround from last weekends glorious weather when we took a trip to Storm King. I'm not so concerned about flooding but I am concerned about loosing power in the event of high winds or fallen trees. We are already bored and we've only been home for a few hours this morning, we technically can leave the house but its not that nice out. I'm a bit dissappointed because we also had plans and actually bought costumes for Halloween and now may end up being rained out. For now we'll be carving pumpkins and making s'mores in front of a fire to pass the time.