More About Food? - Friday 4/10/2009

Yeah, I'm still fixated on the stuff. This is what I had for breakfast today. I figure that cheese is better on bread than butter because at least I'm getting a little protein. Plus, this Irish Blarney (white cheddar) cheese we get in blocks at Costco-which you pay more for at Trader Joe's and a lot more for in the specialty cheese section of your local grocery store--is delicious.

And these grape tomatoes from the farmer's market are outta this world.




See? See?

The vintage Pyrex refrigerator set is not just lounging around in the cupboard eating grapes. It's actually working for it's keep.

Made a double batch of that evil artichoke Parmesan dip to take along for part of the appetizers we bring for our family's Easter Saturday dinner.


These? Well, I am 98.99 % sure that these will make more sense when they're laid out on a nice plate.

They're the result of Hydra and I both tossing celery into the shopping basket, and they actually taste very good.

Into the celery I have stuffed a mixture of cream cheese, bleu cheese, walnuts, and garlic. I wouldn't have added the chopped parsley if I didn't have to transport everything two hours south of here. (The parsley will keep them from sticking together.)


And here's your grand finale! The UFO-like hovering pineapple/pecan upside down cake!

Why hovering? Because the sun's going down and it's blue in the back yard, that's why!

Are we in retro heaven yet?

Out with the Old - Sunday 1/4/2009

What are these things anyway?

Hydra was going through his closet and came across some of my old computer games. I thought I'd see if this one would still run. Ha! It's on 5 1/4 inch disks! (Also on the smaller ones.) And it it can be run on either Windows or DOS 3.0 and higher.

When I first started working on computers in nineteen-hundred and eighty-nine, we had a system called NPS at UCLA that used 8 inch floppy disks! It went away shortly after I arrived, and we modernized to these 5 1/4 inch babies.



We took the toys and lights off of the tree and then suddenly there was just this big tree lurking a bit awkwardly in the living room.

When we wrestled it into a huge plastic bag and hauled it outside, I felt like we were kidnapping it! Eek.

Oh, and FYI, I had a personal best this morning at the gym: 60 minutes of cardio level elliptical machine "running" (heart rate between 145-150 the whole time), for a total of 5.52 miles! My longest both time and distance-wise.

This was to rid myself of my end-of-vacation / beginning-of-the-new-year screaming hollowness. It didn't really make me a better person, but it made me feel like one.

New Year's Rockin' Eve - Wednesday 12/31/2008

The table settings for our dinner. Same stuff we used for Christmas dinner. Well, we did take the time to wash everything in between.

Our friends History and Cowgirl came up for the night. This tradition has been going on for probably seven years now. They brought fixings to make a lentil salad.

At one point, when they were both buzzing around the kitchen, chopping, shredding, slicing and checking the boiling pot of lentils, Cowgirl said I was a like a scout leader guiding them along. Well, only because they didn't know where things were in my kitchen.

Cowgirl and History are vegetarians, and it's always fun to come up with a veggie meal for the evening. I made a casserole using asparagus and fresh mushrooms in place of green beans in that classic Campbell's Soup recipe. Sort of updates it while it maintains its comfort food status. Also made shaved Brussels sprouts with garlic, capers and fennel seeds (yum!) and black eyed peas with salsa (served hot) and....


Another pineapple upside down cake. Is this going to be my signature cake? Maybe! I've tweaked it a little each time I've made it. I prefer crushed pineapple to rings and tossing a handful of pecans into the topping turned out to be a very very good idea.

History and Cowboy made spiced apple cider with rum to top off the evening (that and a little champagne.) It involved cloves and a sliced orange, too. Very good. In fact, I'm sipping at leftovers right now.

We actually stayed up till 12:05! This may be the first time we've ever made it to midnight together!

I think 2009's going to be a good collection of days, no matter what.

Helpful - Saturday 12/27/2008

It's time to take down the notes I posted on the fridge that helped me time out Christmas dinner. Not really complicated, but it's best to write these things down.

In pencil.

So you can adjust them when something puts you off by 15 minutes.

Christmas Day - Thursday 12/25/2008

Another overexposed photo of a Christmas tree! I'll bet the Internet is just buzzing with these right now.

Next year, maybe I'll think to set up a tripod rather than settle for another shot like this. The cousins arrived from Orange and San Diego counties bearing gifts.


The roast beef was tender and delicious, the salmon--which I poached in the microwave--surprised and impressed the diners, and these simple cheese crisps--which were requested--were a hit again at least amongst the women-folk.

It was a good day. They arrived around 11 am and stayed until almost 6pm. It rained a little and gusted a lot, which kept us from our traditional walk between dinner and dessert, but it was a very nice day inside.

Hmm. There's an awful lot about food here around the build-up to and celebration of this holiday. I love cooking for people.

Christmas Eve - Wednesday 12/24/2008

Hydra sneaks past with some last minute gift wrapping.


I prep the rib roast for tomorrow's feast. It pleases me wildly that I can step out my kitchen door and snip fresh rosemary from my herb garden.

Life in the Slow Lane - Friday 12/12/2008

The puppy's loving it. Me too.



After I got on the 14, the sky turned into a light show. I kept wishing I could easily stop and snap photos of the clouds and the mountains and the moon rising. Jumped out on the drive up to our neighborhood and took this one.

Good thing, too, because all the color was gone by the time I picked up the mail.

We started the weekend by going for sushi and picking up a Christmas tree! It's the freshest tree we've ever had. We had to be careful of the sap dripping out of it, and it was so heavy!

When you're living life in the slow lane, you don't feel compelled to decorate the tree as soon as you bring it home. Aaah.

Lookin' a Lot Like Christmas - Wednesday 12/10/2008

They've decorated the little pot plants-- er, potted plants at the coffee house downstairs from my office. All around town, there are signs of the season.

I like all the lights and extra doo-dads. I like the Christmas music on the radio at Andrew's. I like planning surprises for my friends and family.

Ooh, and today I met with Los Angelista for lunch and she gave me the printer I won on her blog! Remember to go there and enter to win the Wii Fit she's giving away! And then read her blog. She's doing cool things and she writes about them well.

Happy HouseDay! - Tuesday 12/3/2008

I took this two years ago. It's the stairs leading to the back deck at my Mom's house. This is where I grew up. (Though admittedly, it was a concrete patio when I lived there.)

Today is the house's 48th birthday! It's the day my family moved in, about six weeks before I was born. (Did I make the math easy enough for you?)

My parents designed and built it themselves. I really like the way Mom laid out the kitchen, with a built in oven and a stove top built into the counter that divides the working kitchen from the dining area.

Also very cool: There's a secret passageway! One pair of closets was never sealed off in between, so you can crawl through over the shoes and under the hanging clothes.

You're not supposed to. But you can. Trust me, this will win you major points with young friends.

Today's the day we start celebrating Christmas. Used to be with an ornament or a special favorite food next to your plate at dinner on December 3rd. My favorite was my own jar of maraschino cherries and the little glass bird ornaments that clipped onto the branches and had a little spray of stiff plastic threads for tails. (Cooler than I am describing, honestly.)

Happy Birthday, House!

Thanksgiving - Thursday 11/27/2008

While we had Thanksgiving dinner, a bird of a different feather watched us from Cuz-M and Cuz-P's back yard.

I wandered around taking photos of the paving stones Cuz-P makes, and the flowers in their yard.


I love the way their white washed fence sets off the roses!


The person who gave them the cutting that these shamrocks grew from says he brought it over from Ireland himself. I didn't realize that it had blossoms.


One of many blooms on this shrub.


Yellow!


After a long day of making us feel at home, Le Roi is bushed. Fuzzy photo because I didn't want to use the flash.


Hydra naps. As it turns out he was at the beginning of a weekend long illness. Let's just say he didn't keep his Thanksgiving dinner very long.

Carnations - Monday, Memorial Day, 5/25/2008

These miniature carnations are doing better this year than they have in the three or four years since I planted them on the street side of the house.

Much as it would have been nice to spend another night at the campground, it was really nice to wake up at home. Allergies have been dogging me for days, and I enjoyed one of my favorite indulgences: lying in bed in the morning reading and dozing.

We went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of th Crystal Skull, which I review on my film and book website Curioscopy.

The Big Valentine's Day Photo Shoot - Thursday 2/14/2008

My idea of a Valentine's Day sentiment.

Let's pause for a moment. Let's enjoy the sweetness of the day, any day, not just the one that's been chosen for us. Let's get to know each other better. What have you been up to? Tell me.




Then again. On the other hand. There might be some money to be made here. Here's my new line of parrot-centric greeting cards.

This one says, without ambiguity. I'm cute. I love you. What more do you need?




This one's moody and uncertain. I might love you. I would like to love you. I think.

Do you love me first?



I've had a change of heart. It was fun while it lasted. The party's over, babe.

Cookies and Writing Advice - Wednesday 2/13/2008

Preparation for any holiday, large or small, probably should involve some baking.

Los Angelista tagged me for a meme. I'm to give three pieces of writing advice, even though she has already given up the really good stuff over on her blog. Since it wouldn't be right for me to just cut and paste hers over here...


1) Take Los Angelista's advice. Actually write. You can do it in ten minutes a day (I would have said 15 minutes a day, but if ten works, it works. It's good to keep your hand in.) Avoid writing books (advice I really need to take because some of them have helped but some stop me dead in my tracks.)

2) Treat your writer self kindly. Don't badger and cajole. Establish a discipline of showing up (as noted above) and respect that. Try to accept what you get on paper any given day. This advice is actually hard for me to take because no matter how much I do in writing or in life, I seldom feel I have done enough.

3) Lighten up! Surprise yourself every so often. Do a short timed writing that isn't required to be about whatever major project you are currently working on. Play!

Get some one to give you a prompt. Either a word (like "dread") or a phrase (like "what s/she wanted versus what s/he got" or "The last thing s/he saw before the lights went out was...") Set the timer for 10 or 15 minutes, and go.

This is especially fun if you can get a couple of other writers to play along, and then you read what you wrote aloud.


Hmm. Lookie there. That was easy enough!

I'm tagging the Elegant E over at Lexiconscious to do the same!

Super Tuesday vs. Pancake Day - Tuesday 2/5/2008

Today is Pancake Day in the UK, Canada and Australia. I found this out when I visited 43Things this morning. I rose to the occasion and made some pancakes. Everything must be shared with the parrot, except for chocolate, coffee and avocados, which are not good for him.

Just as I poured hot syrup over my steaming 'cakes, the phone rang. It was OneL, seeking a discussion of the rather confusing ballot measure 93. I foresook the pancakes and looked at the materials again. I think we both understand it a little better, but I'm not sure how much it matters.

I am not terribly happy about term limits in general. Why shouldn't we be able to keep a person in office if we choose to? And if we stop liking them, there's always another election.

Shortly, I will rise to the other occasion and saunter down to the clubhouse in my neighborhood to vote. I am excited that I will be able to wear my "I Voted" button all day today. Usually I vote after work.

Today I'm not working, but I'm going to take over Mags's class at Taking the Reins while she's out of town today. So I'll show off my sticker to the kids. I'm looking forward to it with a little trepidation, and am happy to have a chance to get my feet wet teaching before I have a class of my own.




"Why must you invade even my most intimate moments?"

Christmas Day 2007

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!

You can't really see them in this light, but we switched to lower-energy-use LED lights on the tree this year.

We had a great Christmas. Hydra woke up at 3:15 and there was no more sleep to be had. We opened packages that had arrived from people in other states, and a couple from each other. Did a little prep for dinner, set the table, etc. Most of the prep was done the day before.

The cousins arrived from Orange and Riverside counties around 11:00 and we broke out the Mimosas and the-- Let's call them Pimosas. Champagne and peach juice cocktails, for a change. Appetizers: homemade shrimp spread, cheeses, crackers, TJ's Sun dried tomato/pesto torta, kalamata olives, nuts.

Opened gifties from one another. Lots of goodies!

Dinner was pork tenderloin roasted with garlic, rosemary and sage; P's killer mashed potatoes, V's delish spinach pear and Gorgonzola salad, apple-sage stuffing, shaved Brussels sprouts with bacon.



Now the birdhouses I painted (but did not build) can be revealed. I had a lot of fun with these. Ended up doing two more. Green and another pink/lavender in another shape.



After dinner we drove over to Shambala for the traditional viewing of the lions. Okay, it's not a tradition yet, but it may be... It's only about 7 miles from us. This guy was in an enclosure near the road.


This big fellah huffed and puffed for us from down in the canyon. We just stopped along the road to look in.

Back to the house for apple pie and mincemeat pie, and tea. Everyone stayed till about dusk.

We felt really good about the day. And I have to admit, it was nice not to have to drive anywhere!

An Avian Christmas Eve - Sunday 12/24/2007

I have had this pie bird for years and finally used it!

It's an old-fashioned tool to vent the steam from the crust (which this didn't really need, because there is a hole in the crust that is kind of gaping.)

I made this from an apple pie kit that Dana's boss and his wife gave us for Christmas. Forgot to even try to make a decorative edging on the crust, but I did cut little leaves out of extra dough and put those on.





Okay, sad to say, although Dodger had vowed to remain uncute on the Internet for the duration of the WGA strike, he couldn't help himself. He committed this random act of cuteness and I...well, I accidentally videotaped it. And then I tripped while carrying my laptop, and it ended up on YouTube. Sorry, WGA.

His original YouTube appearance, not being cute in response to the video Sorry, Internet, has been viewed 1,339 times since it was posted three weeks ago!

Wrapping Up Christmas - Sunday 12/23/2007

Our tree-topping Santa. We like him.


I picked up these reusable totes at Target for less than the cost of a lot of the gift bags they sell. Perfect for oddly sized gifts, and good for the environment, too!

Christmas/Birthday Tea - Thursday 12/20/2007

Yeah, it would have been nice if I'd thought to take a photograph of this before I and my coworkers descended upon it like hyenas on voles.

Wow, was the food at The T Room in Montrose great! Most of us ordered the traditional tea and you could substitute other sandwiches from the menu. Mmm. The Lingonberry Chicken was surprisingly good. Watercress & cucumber may have been my favorite, with the Olivade coming in a close second.

Big pots of tea--we ordered the Noel blend and the Russian blend--on the table. Happiness. We celebrated Christmas and Momalisa's birthday. Food was wonderful, service was slow for our party of eight. It took about 20 minutes before they even brought us the tea, which came when the sandwiches and scones were ready.

My only food complaint was the fruitcake style candied fruit in the scones. I mean, yuck.

Everyone rose above the ominous fact that this is our last meal together for the foreseeable future. We will be working on kind of an on-call basis in January, a day or two a week maybe. I don't want to write about it.



The top of the Christmas tree, which everyone encouraged me to get a shot of... Scarily over-decorated for my taste.


Weens exhibits the classic tea room decorum one would expect of a lady. We're so proud!

[Hey, she reads this blog. She knew the risk she was taking!]




Looking up Honolulu Avenue from outside the T Room. Didn't get any good pix of the outside of the T Room. It's not terribly photogenic.


Weens pointed out this angel down the street, in front of an art gallery.

We went back to the office and opened our Secret Santa gifts from each other, and our gifts from the owners. Lovely cashmere scarves, all different colors. So soft and lovely.

I'm sleeping in mine.

Bah Humbug? - Wednesday 12/19/2007

Okay, is this a good sign or a bad one? I went into work today--I'm always there first--and the only lights on in the place were these on a string next to the door toward my office. I Laughed Out Loud.

It's just so half-hearted! Kind of expresses the atmosphere around work this year. We're still basically upbeat people making the best of a situation, but it's becoming hard to maintain the big grins.

Tomorrow we have a meeting and the Christmas/Momalisa's birthday celebratory lunch, this time at a tea room a few cities away. We often go to the festive Smoke House at this time of year because it's within walking distance and it's wonderfully old school. George Clooney named his production house after it (it's across from Warner Brothers.) But it'll be fun to do something different since we have the time to go further this year.



I know, I know. You've seen enough sunset from behind my house to last you a lifetime. But I haven't. Not quite yet.

Busy Day - Tuesday 12/18/2007

Oh my gosh! I had to crop this image out of a larger one because I spent a good part of the day working on Christmas gifts and some of the recipients read this blog from time to time!

You'll have to wait till after Christmas to see what I did with these colors.

Hee hee!

I also baked a bunch of Scotch shortbread today. The house smells so good.

There were a lot of clouds over the mountains across the valley. I made myself a one-egg omelet with avocado and cheddar cheese with sun-dried tomatoes and took it out to the deck and watched the sky move overhead while I ate. With my hood up. It was like 50 degrees out.

But it was sooo wonderful to be home to witness the storm moving in.