Woodpress

We tried an experiment with an egg. I knew that if you put an egg in vinegar, the shell would dissolve, leaving a rubbery membrane… but my kids didn’t know that, and I had never tried it personally.

I like pickled eggs (boiled and peeled eggs soaked in brine), so I thought this might be an interesting way to make them. I also figured it would be easier to peel them if the shell was just a thin soft film… so we gave it a shot!

1. Egg in Cup of Vinegar

2. Post-Vinegar Egg

3. Egg in Pot

4. Boiling Egg

5. Boiled Egg

6. Post-Vinegar Boiled Peeled Half-Eaten Egg

The results…

It was indeed easier to peel. Once I broke the membrane, the egg just squeezed out.

The vinegar that soaked into the egg prevented it from solidifying as much as a normal boiled egg, leaving it goopy on the outside.

It tasted EXTREMELY bitter. Far more than just the sourness you would get from vinegar. The shell must have dissolved into the egg. I found the flavor of the white part unpleasant, even with salt–and I tend to like strong flavors. The texture wasn’t very appealing either. The yolk didn’t taste quite as bitter as the white, but it was fairly nasty, and not something I am likely to eat a second time on purpose.

Last night we went bowling. My oldest daughter has a high school P.E. class, and for her grade she has to bowl two games with an average score higher than 100.

We spent $70 on bowling, but didn’t manage to get the required score. I disapprove of that grading system, but I enjoyed bowling with my family. I intend to talk to the teacher about the possibility of an alternate assignment.

After bowling, we went to IHOP. Here’s a picture of my son drinking through an IHOP crazy straw.

For my birthday, my mother-in-law gave me a crystal globe.

My dad, Allen Thrower, died yesterday peacefully at home in his sleep. He was 73 years old.

He wrote many stories about his life, which I have begun to post on his posthumous blog at allenthrower.com. There’s also a page about Allen Thrower for anyone interested.

I took these photos on a walk with my kids today.

My instructions for this photo were "go stand by that fence." (No, he’s not actually beating her with a bottle of water in a sock, but that was the effect he was going for.)

Mum’s the word (because I can’t spell chrysanthemum).

Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Eureka!

I’d allow them to run ahead to the next corner while I went at my own speed and took pictures. They got bored while waiting at this corner. This is just a candid photo.

This is my youngest daughter. It looks like she’s completely shocked by something in the sky, but really she’s pointing at a stop sign that she sounded out, saying "STOP!"

Today at lunch we happened upon an old fire engine from Helper, Utah.

It was just sitting in a parking lot along with other cars. Unfortunately, I only had my macro lens with me, so I took a lot of detail shots. I couldn’t get far enough away without things (cars or signs) blocking my shot, so there are no decent pictures of the whole fire engine. I may try again.

It has many interesting features: wooden spokes on the wheels, at least one wooden gear, a crank in front (I assume to start it, like a Model T), etc.

Recently as I was leaving for work I noticed that my son’s bicycle was casting a dry shadow on the wet cement. I moved the bike and took a picture.

Yesterday evening I went on a mini photo excursion in the cul de sac with my two youngest kids. This is the winning photo from the event: