Double Graduation

Sort of like a double wedding, we experienced a double graduation this weekend.  My sister Punky Brewster (finally!) graduated with her undergrad in microbiology, and Bigbad (finally!) completed his Master's in English lit.

Everything leading up to this graduation has felt like a water droplet in suspension.  Will it ever be over?  Will he/she/I get a job?  It's been a long time coming, and the wait of possibility is finished.  Finished for the time being.

The university had Punky Brewster and Bigbad's department graduations at the same time in different buildings. Bigbad wanted things to be easy, and I didn't want to have to choose which to go to, so they both attended the enormous university wide ceremony.  Despite the thousands in attendance, we were still able to spot Bigbad and Punky Brewster.

The ceremony was long (it took over 50 minutes for the graduates to proceed in).  Thank the ever loving Lord, the band did not play Pomp & Circumstance once.  They seemed to favor more adventure movie scores.  The ceremony had some awkward moments during speeches when I'm sure everyone turned to their neighbor and wondered if they were filming commercials for various products and companies, but overall the mood was one of excessive pride and wonderful energy.  

See the two rows in front of Bigbad?  Those are newly commissioned officers from the NCSU's ROTC.  In front of them are the valedictorians of the colleges (students with over 100 credit hours and a perfect GPA).  The vet school graduates seem to have a competition every year on who can out do everyone on decorating their mortarboard.  These caps had balloons, animated toys, helmets, and flamingos, and all sorts of zany creations.  And twice, the forever alums were honored.  They were NCSU graduates from at least 50 years ago.  Some pride lasts a lifetime I suppose.

Both Punky Brewster and Bigbad had some serious school pride going on with their wardrobe selections. Punky Brewster had her fan feet heels on (I wore mine--obviously not NCSU to the large ceremony to balance out all the State pride).  Bigbad wore his wolf tie that came from Bigbad Papa's collection.

We all got together (and when I say all--I mean me, Bigbad, Smallgood Granny & Pop, the Bigbad parents, Smallgood parents, Tempest Mermaid, and one of Punky Brewster's graduating buddies) to mark the celebration with a dinner at Klara's and a gift exchange.

 

We had to get a new family portrait.  And finally you see a new photo of the Rocker. Seven and a half post secondary degrees among us.We're racking them up.

And now, what's next?  What is the after now that we are no longer suspended in the various stages of denial and unbelief and terror that is graduating?  Punky Brewster is job hunting while simultaneously packing to likely make a big cross country move.  Bigbad is job hunting and playing the bajesus out of Defiance.

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On our plate: Deviled Eggs

Being the Southerner that I am, one of the things that I hold to be true is the notion that if it's an event, there will be deviled eggs.  Bigbad laughed at this when we first started dating, but he's quickly come to believe the truth in that idea.

A holiday = deviled eggs are essential.

A special occasion like graduation = someone will bring deviled eggs.

Just a Tuesday = nope, no deviled eggs.

I couldn't tell you why this is the case, but it is.  And I'm not complaining.

This was a new experiment of putting breakfast sausage around the boiled eggs.  Scotch egg recipe from All Recipes.  Then obviously devil the yolks.

We tried fried deviled eggs on our recent trip to D.C.  They were delicious, but even Bigbad admitted they weren't as good as Marmie or Smallgood Granny's typical fare.

I couldn't tell you why they are so delicious, but they are.

Our ingredients are similar to Paula Deen's (hey, there's no butter in this recipe!).  Relish is key.  And I'd never heard of the idea of putting hot sauce in deviled eggs before searching for a recipe online:

• 7 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• Salt and pepper, for taste

We don't typically garnish with paprika-- not that I'm against it.  The contrast is beautiful.  But somewhere along the generations, someone must have run out of the spice and someone else must have assumed that's the way our family's always prepared it.

P.S. I'm adding a new tag to some of my recipe/food posts: there's an app for that.  Clever, huh?  For all my appetizers (which let's be honest are mainly what I can handle).

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May 4: Free Comic Book Day

Growing up, I suspect the Rocker wanted his daughters to enjoy some of the hobbies and interests he had as a child.  From his introduction, we dabbled with music, chemistry kits, erector sets, and comic books.  The comics we read were not your garden super hero variety.  We went old school-- Casper, Little Lulu, and Archie.

When I began reading chapter books, I don't think I picked up another comic book.  But I'm glad for the resurgence comic literature is making.  I was thrilled to find out about Free Comic Book Day in time to participate.  With 53 titles available for free, it was a great opportunity for me to be re-exposed to the vast world of comic books and comic art.

This short video explains a bit about what Free Comic Book Day aims to do and why comic books are special to folks.

The weather was brisk for a May morning, but rain held off.  There were many nerds.  Nerds with super hero shirts.  Nerds with costumes.  Nerds with kids.  Nerds with kids in costumes.  Nerds with their parents.  It was a wonderful community very excited about getting some comics.  

Once the line was allowed in the area, everyone moved quickly.  I was glad I had considered the descriptions from the website and also this cheeky guide from NPR to make my selections ahead of time.

I ended up with Marble Season and Damsels Mermaids since the first was an excerpt from a memoir and the second just looked pretty bad ass (and I love folk tales and fables).  I might just keep the Pippi comic with adorable vintage panels I picked up for Smallgood Co-worker.  Bigbad really wanted Judge Dredd.  Finally, we picked up several others from our friend Grande's list. 

What about you?  When was the last time you read a comic book?

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Embers of the Month: April

This is my monthly recap series where I link up to posts on my blog I want to feature. I also share things from my twitter and instagram. It's just a chance to catch up and breathe before the new month begins. 

What I did: participated in World Book Night
What I ate: gazpacho (we used this recipe or something similar)
What I watched: Game of Thrones (catching up on Season 1).  I call this the Dragon Show around Bigbad.
What I read: Persepolis for school (I don't have time for a review, but I enjoyed it and could see myself getting into more graphic novels.  Suggestions?) and New Family Traditions
What I made: not much...been working in the garden though
What I celebrated: Bigbad's finished with traveling to D.C.
What I heard:  poetry reading at Morning Times in Raleigh
What I turned up: house concert with Callaghan

I blog about books, crafts, educational ideas, food, and my life. You can subscribe to my blog to stay up to date on my posts or follow along at other social media sites.