Adventures in Breathing

I had a fun day.  I went to the eye doctor.  Turns out I need glasses for distance and upclose.  I'm getting bifocals.  Yay?  I am looking forward to being able to see better again. 

But...bifocals?  Really?  Sigh.

The rest of the day was much happier - friends, food and fun!

I just found out that a friend of mine from my childhood through adolescence passed away last Friday.  She was my babysitter when I was growing up, but also a good friend as I got older.  We haven't seen each other probably since before I left California, probably at my wedding, but she was someone who I thought of often and whom I missed.

Annie was a wonderful person - very loving and giving.  She worked hard for all her achievements in life because schoolwork did not come easily for her and yet she went into education.  She mentored a lot of people and if the guestbook comments with the online obituary are any indication, she touched and inspired a great many people. 

I am utterly stunned and grieving over this news.  I know she is with God in heaven now and for that, I praise Him, but we will certainly miss her here with us.

Rest in peace, Annie.

If you did not watch "Jericho" when it was airing on CBS, you have a chance to catch up.  The CW has scrapped their Sunday night lineup and replaced it with a variety of other shows, one of which is "Jericho."  The Pilot airs tonight.  Check your local listings - in Indy, it's 7 pm and the CW is channel 4.  I'm guessing it's earlier in Central and Mountain time zones, but probably also 7 pm in the Pacific. 

"Jericho" is arguably one of the best TV series ever.  The characters are engaging.  Though they start out as somewhat stock, they break out of those molds with relative speed.  The plotlines are complex without being unduly convoluted.  But what sets "Jericho" apart is the way it can make you think.  (You can also just sit back and watch it for the fun if you want a brain break.)  It asks a lot of tough questions and has the power to remind us of the importance of human connections.  The first season is wonderful; the very short, second season is the only show of which I can honestly say I would not delete a single scene - that is how tight the writing was.  And yet the writers did not sacrifice all the things that made the show special - character interaction and growth, relationships, humor and quiet, simple moments amid chaos. 

Give it 5 episodes and you will not regret it.  I can say that with confidence - and so can the ten or so people I got hooked on the show.
 

From Kris' blog: the top 106 books marked as "unread" by Library Thing's users. Those books that sit on the shelf and make you look smart (in theory, right?)   Bold the ones you've read; italicize the ones you read for school; underline the ones you didn't finish or are sitting on the shelf waiting for a free week.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius  (I think Wen has read this for everyone and said to stay away, but I could be wrong)
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian : a novel    (really?  this is on here?  Egads!  Don't bother people!)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels and Demons
Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables – Actually, read it in French
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves (can't get it to bold, but Wen gave it to me)
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield

And Kris has a good point - where are the Shakespeare plays?  I've read all but Henry VIII?  Where are the Greeks?  Where's Ibsen (my personal favorite)?  And there are some Pulitzer winners on here, but not a lot.  I want credit for my Pulitzers! 

No, I'm not having one.  It's really more a potential crisis for a man of conscience and it bugs me.

Joe Lieberman.  He's a senator from Connecticut.  He was Al Gore's running mate on the 2000 Democratic presidential ticket.  After 9/11, he broke with his party (the Democrats) over some security issues.  The Democratic party withdrew their support of him when he ran for re-election in 2006.  He ran as an Independent and won.  Which says a lot about the voters who elected him, IMO, putting ideology ahead of paritsan junk.  He's still a registered Dem though and chairman/member of several Senatorial committees.  Now, here's the problem:  Lieberman supported McCain.  He did so because, according to what I've read, he felt McCain had more experience.  Shortly after the election, Harry Reid, the Nevada Senator who is the Senate Majority leader (and, IMO, a major bonehead) started making noise that he would strip Lieberman of his committee memberships and chairmanships.

so, let me get this straight?  A man goes by the dictates of his conscience, refuses to follow party lines and he may be punished?  He did nothing criminal.  He said nothing hateful.  He simply voted as he believed was best for his country.  And in the US, supposedly a beacon of freedom, he might be punished for not following lock-step with what others say?  That's a crisis, in my mind.  If we are truly the free, liberal nation we claim to be, then it shouldn't matter. 

I understand the Dems being upset.  Hey, I wasn't thrilled when Colin Powell came out for Obama, but if that's what the man's conscience tells him is best and it's not criminal or hateful?  Then I'll learn to live with it.  The Dems need to do the same.  In this day and age, when the cynical among us believe men of conscience are few and far between in politics, it would be a shame if the new leading party proved us right.  So let's hope Harry Reid means it when he now rumbles that Lieberman may not lose his Homeland chairmanship. 

There you go... one of my rare political posts!

 

Egads!  If I donned leather pants, a corset with a ruffled top edge and very red lipstick and suddenly found myself in an alternate reality, I could not have been more bored than I was tonight.  I hope hope hope my new job gets better.  A lot better.  I'm giving it til the end of January since we'll be here on and off through then anyway, but seriously?  As I passed a McDonald's tonight, I couldn't help but wonder if they were hiring.  Yep.  I'd rather make fries than work in a bookstore.  A bookstore!  Me!  Something wrong with this picture, huh?

Okay, well, here's to a positive outlook that I'll (quickly) get some responsabilities there and thus enjoy it. 

www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2008-11-07-bio-beer_N.htm

I'm having one of those days... not sure why exactly, probably a combination of things.  I recently joined this site where you exchange books with people all over.  I sent off two of my books to a person in Vermont who got them but wasn't thrilled as they weren't hardback.  I refunded his "points" (that's how it works - on a points system - the more points you have, the more books you can geta nd you earn points by sending books).  Today I got a message with my points back (fine) and a note to "just be more careful when you list your books."  And the hope we can exchange in the future (bot bloody likely).  I'm telling myself he didn't mean to chastise me, but that's sure how it feels.  And part of me wanted to lash out with "Well, stop and think about it - the hardback editions of the books I sent you are worth anywhere from $50-$100 EACH... do you really think I'd send them away like that?" I mean, come on...  So... yeah, he probably didn't mean it like that, but if it were me I probably wouldn't have said anything at all (because I get books to read them, not caring what edition they are) and because mistakes happen.  In the grand scheme of thing, this wasn't even much of a mistake.  And...well, I'm a rather smart girl in general and does he honestly think after refunding him his points I wasn't going to be more careful anyway? 

Then I got an e-mail meant to be helpful, but the first thing pointed out was a spelling mistake.  Any other day, I probably wouldn't have cared a whole lot.  Today?  It feels like a weight around my neck.

I also feel that I'm letting my new boss down.  I was supposed to start next week, working for her.  Now I can't really.  I'm scheduled at the scrapbook store Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights.  Wednesday I expected, if we even stayed open late (which wasn't very certain at all) but I'd mentioned at work ?(scrapbook store) how I was supposed to be at the bookstore the other nights.  Now, this is my own fault because I didn't write it on the schedule which I should have and I'm making it up to Cindy (bookstore lady) by working Tuesday and Thursday, from 5 - 8 to start getting the hang of how things go there.  So I know deep down I'm not too thrilled about next week, working 5 nights and then Saturday, too.  The paychecks will be nice though - guess I need to look at it that way.  And that I'm keeping my word as best as possible to both places.  And everyone at the scrapbook store is pitching in right now, so there's really nothing I can do anyway.

Most of all I suppose is the election.  Yes, I'm not happy with the results.  Not surprised, but still not happy.  I'm worried about a man who has virtually no leadership experience, virtually no foreign policy experience and who made a lot of campaign promises that I simply don't believe can be kept - and some of them, at what cost will they be kept?  And yes, part of me is flat out scared.  I hope and pray that I'm as wrong as wrong can be, but I believe we'll be attacked again within 2 years.  And it will be worse.  All that aside though, I think what really gets to me is the vitriol.  It comes from both sides and it seems many people find it completely normal and acceptable anymore.  That depresses me.  While I may not agree with people on the other side of the aisle, so to speak, from me, I don't go around making sweeping generalizations about them, about their intelligence, about their education or anything else.  I am tired of hearing that if you vote for one side or the other that you are a sheep or a traitor or an idiot or bigot or anything else.  People have opinions and, happily in America, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.  It seems like people on both sides have forgotten that and think only people who agree with them are entitled to that opinion; the rest can be maligned and impugned because they don't matter.  I used to be more outspoken that in the last decade or so.  Not because I care less now, but because I've found it harder and harder to express my opinion without someone else turning it into a personal attack.  Maybe I need a thciker skin.  Or maybe I should fight back in the same way.  But frankly I think the idea of a thicker skin is not a good one - if we all become inured to what is said then no one is going to care or listen to anyone else and I don't think I could stand to become one of those people who maligns others simply for thinking differently than I do.  I don't have to agree with that thinking - I can even find it foolish - but to disparage a group for it?  That's not who I am.    It's not who I want to be.

Well, thanks for reading, if you made it this far.  I feel a bit better getting that all out.  Now I think I'll go have a shower.

Hmmmm...

portable water filtration system
iodine
basic canned goods
fishing gear
vegetable seeds
salt
shotgun
duct tape
horses
couple of handguns

It's not as random a list as it seems.

must come to an end.  The store where I work is closing.  We've known for a couple months now and rumors have been growing, but most people knew by the big crop yesterday.  After today, we won't have to answer evasively to anyone who doesn't know.  It's sad that the store is closing.  I've been a customer there pretty much since it opened 5 years ago and I started working there 3 years ago this past September.  I'll miss having a place close by to get all my supplies.  I'll miss - of course - my employee discount.  But most of all I'm going to miss a place that has been very nurturing to me.

I'd been at SC about 3 months when I found out about the CF.  In fact, I went to get my test results on a lunch break.  I had phoned Matt, but fully intended on telling my parents next.  However, I walked back in and Mandy said, "Well?"  It sort of burst out from me.  Everyone was worried, offered to cover for me if I wanted to go home, you name it.  Mandy even looked up CF at home so she would know what I was facing.  Over the years, my friends there have covered for me if I needed the day off because I wasn't feeling well or when I ended up hospitalized.  They've sympathized with me if I'm a little bit sick or a lot.  They've understood I can't dust anymore or clean the dust mops and have done those things on my behalf.  Georgiann and Martha have both "thumped" me on occasion, when Matt's been out of town or if it was just an extra stuffed uf day and I needed some extra percussion therapy.  Deb has a friend whose son has CF, so Deb has always had a special insight into what this junk is.  I believe God leads us where we need to be, if we let Him, and He surely led me to these people.

Aside from their concern over my health, these women have become my close friends.  Martha is my "Indiana Mom."  She reminds me to eat well and not to drink too much soda.  Georgiann and Malia are like sisters to me.  Deb, Chaleen, Mary, Carolyn, Judi, Diana... I am really going to miss seeing their faces on a regular basis.  I'm going to miss all the laughter and how we all share our frustrations with each other.  I'm going to miss spontaneous moments of "let's go grab a drink after work" and then walking across the parking lot to Logan's.  With all of us going to new jobs (well, hopefully!) I know it's going to be harder to get together, but I hope we will.  BBQs in the summer, casual dinners inside other times or even out to Logan's or something once in a while, not to mention another Girls' Cruise!  We had Martha over last night after the big crop and I realized again how much I enjoy spending time with the friends I've made through my job.  Jobs come and go, but friends are what really matters.

You know, deep down I want to write for TV. I guess I’ve watched enough of it to believe I could do a fair job of it and that I might know what I was doing. Now I know a certain producer whose initials happen to be A and A who would dispute that, pointing out I’m an amateur who has been part of a group that patted itself on the back and so on (yes, that comment still rankles) and I have no idea what the professionals really do. But here’s the thing – viewership is down, breakout hits are faltering (and that’s a nice word for it, AA) and as of Halloween, only two new fall shows have been picked up for full seasons. So, maybe the so-called professionals might not exactly know what they’re doing either. 

Just my little thought for the day.

I admit - I'm hooked on "Fringe."  I don't want to go overboard and think that a good start, or even good freshmen year, guarantees anything beyond just that:  a good beginning.  But I think the show has strong potential.

The cast has got the chops to carry off almost anything the writers throw at them.  Anna Torv is probably the weak link, but I think she's improving every week and I really do like how dispassionate they keep her character.  Then you take Blair Brown as the baddie, John Noble as your mad scientist and Joshua Jackson as the amoral yet possibly well meaning and brilliant renegade and you get those chops I mentioned. 

The writers are a terrific group thus far.  I may be entirely basing that on the fact that Darrin Morgan is one of the writers/executive producers and he was one of the best - if not the best - writer Chris Carter ever had the good sense to hire at "The X Files."  The combination of humor, drama, gross-out stuff and emotional moments is terrific.

The arc plot seems well thought out and is moving forward.  The epis, however, do well as stand-alones overall, which is important to the success of a show.  Whatever "the pattern" is we see bits of it week by week and, I suspect, this may be one of those shows where we'll need to see the whole thing to determine entirely what it is,

The characters.  These will be the true success of the show.  They have very quickly broken them all from being stock sci/fi heroes and heroines or baddies.  They have avoided the trap of making characters uni-dimensional, giving them all a solid mix of strengths and flaws.  They've also made them a solid mix of sympathetic and less-so.  It would be easy - and tempting - for example, to make Olivia also right, but she isn't.  It would be tempting to reconcile Walter and Peter or keep them estranged, but the writers are letting the drama build as father and son learn to tolerate each other and they are letting other emotions emerge gently, slowly.  Small pieces tend to be revealed each week and relationships are building in ways I find believable.  I loved tonight's tidbit about Olivia's birthday and its meaning for her.  I loved how it was revealed - low key, a sense of "it is what it is" and how it's Peter who worked on drawing her out over it. 

I might as well finish by admitting that I'd love to see Peter and Olivia together.  They are both people in need of healing and I think they each have things that would benefit the other, but I'm good with the show either way. 

Next week is an encore - not sure which epi - and I haven't checked, but I'm betting the show is on iTunes, so if you haven't watched, give it a shot!  Unless you're not Miss SciFi at all, like me.  In which case... never mind.  <g>

 

I am now on Facebook.  You can find me there and add to me your friends.  Sigh... the more I try to resist some of this stuff... yeah.

What else?  Finished James Rollins' "The Last Oracle" over the weekend.  Silly, spy/thriller series, but I'm totally hooked on the Sigma team.  It was good to read the next installment - even better because, thanks to Half Price Books, I didn't have to wait for paperback.  Now I'm reading "Descent" byb Jeff Long.  He writes apocalyptic-type fiction.  I read "Year Zero" last week, which was interesting, a bit grim and extremely well-written.  I had a hard time putting "Descent" down last night and going to sleep.  I'll have to track down "Ascent" because I'm guessing it comes between "Descent" and "Deeper." 

Matt and I are set for a snorkel-fest in December.  We booked our cruise - got a good deal on an outside cabin, which will be nice.  We're going to snorkel in St. Thomas, hang out on St. Maarten (maybe rent a car to get around because one thing I have learned is not to give the public transportation in the Caribbean a try), snorkel on Anitgua, probably snorkel on St. Lucia (or do a waterfall hike) and snorkel and visit the green monkeys on Barbados.  Haven't figured out what we'll do in San Juan yet, largely because we haven't booked our dates exactly, probably a day before the cruise and a few days after.

Aside from that?  Ummmm.... nope!  But hey, I updated the blog!

Hmmm... lots of nothing stuff going on in my head.  I'm still tired from the cruise, which was a B.L.A.S.T!  There was sun and snorkeling and sunburning and eating and... tons of fun, all around.  However, whirlwind vacations are a bit tiring.  In a good way.

So... random thoughts:

1.  I'm thinking about taking courses or whatever to be a travel agent.  Good plan, huh?
2.  Matt and I are going on a Caribbean cruise in December (the one we were going on in March of '09, but kept changing the date because the prices kept getting better!  so now we're in December - it's going to cost us nearly as much to get to Puerto Rico as it is to take the cruise.  Though I am working on that.)
3.  I'm about tired of hearing about the "ugly american" tourist.  Yeah, I'll admit, I've seen some bonehead Americans overseas.  I also have seen a ton of tourists from other nations who are just as, if not more, "ugly" than many of the Americans I've encountered.  Spanish tourists, I'm looking at you!  Honestly, Spain's schools must not have been in session last week because I think half of Spain was in the US and on our ship.  And I loall I can say is RUDE.  Really, that annoying line thing only applies to others.  And it's perfectly acceptable to shove others out of the way to get somewhere first.  And, this is old fashioned, I know, but let's get something straight:  unless you are, in some way, on fire, about to regurgitate your lunch or are bleeding heavily, if you are a man, you allow the ladies out of the elevator FIRST.  I don't want to offend anyone, so let me assure you - this observation goes back 6, almost 7, years to the Paris 2002 trip.  Ugh.
4.  Since I'm ranting a bit... I enjoy conversing with people who have differing opinions.  I don't mind listening either, if you're going to speak loudly while at dinner at a restaurant.  But the minute, nay, the second, you decide to dismiss those of differing views as "uneducated," "stupid" or "dupes," you lose my respect for your stance.  If you can't come up with a better argument to support your opinion, you need to rethink a good number of things. 
5.  Back to the lighter side... "Wipeout" was renewed for a second season.  Oh, hush!  I know it's reality TV, but it is an absolute riot.
6.  Matt wanted to watch "Fringe."  I didn't really.  But I did.  And now, I'm hooked, already.  Yeah, it's not the most original TV out there (shades of "The X Files" and "Alias" color it heavily), but the acting is good and the banter is fun.  I lovelovelove John Noble, who plays Walter Bishop, the mad scientist.  For those who might not know, John Noble played "Denethor" in "Lord of the Rings."  He's a terrific actor and I love him in this role.  Because he's brilliant but of questionable sanity, he gets some great random lines that just make me giggle.  And because he's a good actor, he delivers the lines so well.  I am also enjoying Anna Torv as Liv, who has accepted a great deal of these odd happenings with a reasonable amount of aplomb and desire to get down to the bottom of things.  It's nice to see someone who doesn't go into denial.  And I have to admit to having something for Joshua Jackson.  I can't explain it, but I just like the guy.  He plays Walter'sson and the relationship is not an easy one, but it's got a lot of room for exploring their past and going forward together.  So, yeah... "Fringe" is decent so far.
7.  Boston was great.  I managed to lose all my photos, but... but... but I've found a program to recover them.  I think I can get them back.  Yay!   In fact, it's time to go have a look at what was recovered.

Yes, once again, Deb guilted me into posting.  Okay, not really guilted...but she had a point that it had been quite a while since I posted and I like making Deb smile, so hopefully a post will have that effect.

I've been all over the map the last month.  The "Scrapbook Corner Four" went for a girls' weekend to Flint, Michigan for the Michigan Renaissance Festival.  Fun fun!  And no, it's not actually in Flint.  Tho we stayed in Flint at the Rodeway Inn.  Really wasn't too bad, given we paid half what the other places wanted and all we were looking for was a spot to shower and sleep.  The Festival was good.  Not as good as the Devore one, but, what is?  I liked some aspects better than Maryland and some aspects less.  I have one very important observation about jousting and the weather:  no matter the ambient temperature, no matter if it is raining, overcast or any other cooling condition you can name, the moment you sit down to watch the joust, the sun will come out and beat down mercilessly on you.  I think it's a Renn Faire rule.  I got my hair braided - it's long enough now that I got one of the fancy ones. 

Matt and I just got back from Boston, Rhode Island and Cape Cod.  Rhode Island puts me at 48 states visited.  And no, the other two aren't Alaska and Hawaii.  I've been to Alaska.  It's Hawaii and Kansas.  I really hope there's a Jerichon 2009 because it would be in Oakley and therefore, I could mark Kansas off.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun with generally great weather and an almost embarassing amount of lobster consumed.  We stayed in a hotel in Concord, MA (site of "the shot heard 'round the world") built in 1716.  Our room was from that era and it was great!  The floor sloped, the windows were so far out of true, we doubt they opened and the place just screamed "history!"  Happily, the bathroom was from a much more modern era, as was the dining service, where we had dinner as that was the easy thing to do on our first night.  Concord and Lexington are really great.  If you're ever in the area, go see them.  You can easily walk them and it's just fun to picture all these events you learned about in history class actually happening.  I couldn't stop humming "SchoolHouse Rocks" tunes the whole time!

Providence, RI was okay.  It was rainy, the capitol building was closed 'cause it was Saturday and if there were any Starbucks, I think they hid them all.  Add to that, the Brown Uni students were returning and we got caught in that traffic a bit.  Still, you can generally walk Providence in half an hour or less (especially if the person you're with doesn't insist on finding the Truro Synagogue - the oldest in America - and actually located in Newport, RI.  The thing on the main street in Providence that looks like it might be a synagoge?  Bank of America.  And there's a whole Biblical irony there that I'll leave alone.)

We did Newport twice.  The first was the rainy afternoon and it was a snooze.  Imagine a ton of tourists paying hideous parking rates, with no tours to take on the harbor and no beach walks to do and everyone crowding into little shops and cafes - in the rain.  Eventually we gave up and went over to Nargansett, where we had a certificate for money off our dinner at "The Cheeky Monkey."  If you are ever, ever, ever in Rhode Island (anywhere in the state - it is small after all!) go to this place!  It was probably one of the top five meals of my life.  Everything was excellent, from the service to the food and drinks (altho I think it's now safe to say that I'm just not a big fan of the PomTini.  Love Pom juice, love vodka, love mmost of the other additives they use, but the overall result?  Henhn.  So-so.)  Anyway, I had mussels to start and Matt had lobster bisque.  We both had seared Yellowfin Tuna, very rare, with a wasabi, ginger dipping sauce.  Fab-u-lous!

We did Newport again the next day when it was sunny.  Ahhhh, so much better!  We got there early enough that I got that greatest of all tourist boons:  free parking!  We parked near the Breakers, which was the huge mansion the Vanderbuilts had built and toured it.  Our goBoston cards got us in free, so that was good.  One mansion was enough for us tho (there are something like 12.)  We sort of find that amount of oppulence a bit sickening.  Then we drove closer to town  and parked again.  And again... free!  I was on a roll.  We had lunch at a bbq place that we'd seen the day before, packed with people.  It was a good call.  Yum.  I took a picture of my new favorite store ever: 
Ooh!  Ooh!  Shoes!  Yep.  Isn't that a riot?  I think all stores should be named that way.  And Matt says he's going to open a bar and call it Ooh!  Ooh!  Beer!

We spent a couple days on Cape Cod, driving around.  We gave both islands - Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket a miss.  We'll do them some other time.  We saw a number of lighthouses, visited Provincetown way out of the tip and saw where the Pilgrims really landed first (it wasn't in Plymouth - who knew?)  This was when the consumption of lobster became, more or less, a daily event.  Oooohhhhh... yummy lobster.

We left the Cape and went up to Plymouth, where we had a quick walk around and saw Plymouth Rock.  Sort of.  The portico protecting it is being renovated (of course) so we couldn't see much.  I bought a nice postcard tho.  Then we went up to Quincy, which is the birthplace of two US Presidents:  John Adams and John Quincy Adams.  Both are also buried there.  We walked out to their birthplaces and checked out the visitor center.  We left, hoping to beat traffic into Boston, which we did.

The car was dropped at Logan and, to give MBTA props, we were in our hotel near Quincy Market, less than an hour later.  The T has always been a good system, IMO, but since the Big Dig changes...wow.  We then spent several days walking.  Primarily because Boston is so compact that it's silly to take the T everywhere.  Many times it would take you longer than simply walking.  We did take a tour, which was fun - more stories on that later - and got out to Cambridge.  That was a bit sad - it's changed entirely since I was at Harvard in the summer of 1987.  It used to have that fun, slightly funky, college town feel and now it's expensive and trendy.  Or maybe it always was and I didn't notice.  Anyway, I've been back and taken pics of where I lived that summer and such, so I'm good with it.  We spent our last morning going out for the Samuel Adams Brewery Tour (which, by the way, is free.)  It was a really great tour, too.  I recommend it a lot.

We got home Saturday.  Sunday, Georgiann had the cruisers over for a planning meeting and we leave on Friday.  Roger is driving us all.  He'll pick me up at 3:00 a.m.  Yeah.  3:00 a.m.  Only Martha is actually planning on sleeping beforehand.  So far, we look to be storm free, which is always good!  So one more work shift tomorrow and then I can pack Thursday and then... I'm outta here again!  We'll be back late Monday.  A little getaway.

In totally unrelated "Where in the world is Kelly?" news.  I'm planning a vacation for a friend of mine next summer and maybe her family's Christmas vacation, too.  So I'm starting to think about going for the travel agent thing.  It would suit me, wouldn't it?  I was at Sarah's today (pretty nails!  pretty nails!  That change color in the sun.)  Ginny A. was there, about to leave for France and I ended up giving her the list of places to make sure to see, as she'll be in Paris and Avignon.  So, yeah... I think I should give it a go.

Okay, Deb, I hope you liked all the fluff.  If not, well, I'll try better after the cruise.

no, really, truly brilliant.  Trust me, not everyone can accomplish what I have for the last three weeks.  Before I tell you what that was, let me give you a little backstory.  If you've seen me lately then you know I've been having a little problem with acne.  (For 'little" read "big, huge, honkin' zits to where I look like I've developed some skin disease.")  This has made me a tad testy seeing as how I'd gotten back into my routine of using my lovely Mary Kay stuff to clean my face.  I got out of the routine when visiting Mom and Dad earlier and... yeah.  So, there I am, doing this routine faithfully and all and yet the breakouts were getting worse.  Worse!  I'd been having some oiliness before getting back into the routine so I wasn't even using my moisturizer (a point that is going to be hilarious in a moment.)  So, I was really rather disappointed.  Well, last night, I got ready to do my routine, spread my cleanser out on my fingers, wondered again why the little scrubby microbeads in it had all disappeared or broken down and why on earth this stuff didn't lather the way I recalled it and I finally - yes, finally - looked at the bottle because I knew I'd have to call Debbi soon and get some more as I was getting low.  And in looking at the bottle, my brilliance was revealed.

I've been "cleaning" my face with moisturizer for the last three weeks.

Yep.

Brilliant, right?

I dare ya - try to top that one!

We had a bbq last Saturday... fabulous time!  There was some interest in the recipes, so here they are:

Broiled Goat Cheese

1 log goat cheese (chevre), 4 oz, cut into 4 equal rounds
1 sprig each fresh rosemary and thyme (buy the Poultry Blend fresh herbs - you get both)
1 bay leaf
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls brandy
4 vacuum packed grape leaves

Arrange the 4 slices goat cheese on a plate and put thyme, rosemary and bay leaf on top of them.  Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Drizzle on the olive oil and the brandy.  Cover and marinate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Arrange one round cheese on one grape leaf.  Fold the grape leaf over and secure it with a tooth pick.  Repeat for remaining rounds.

Broil on high until leaves begin to char, about 3-5 mins.  Serve piping hot with crackers of your choice - I like wheat thins or bagel crisps

NOTE:  if you do not need approximately 800 grape leaves, you can use pieces of tin foil.

Tapenade (don't scoff until you try it)

4 oz pitted black olives (about 2/3 bigger sized can)
1 tin (2 oz) anchovies, well drained
3 tbls capers with brine
31tbl dijon or brown mustard (I prefer the brown mustard)
1 clove garlic (do NOT increase)
3 tbls lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix all ingredients except olive oil in food processor until it forms a grainy paste.  Yes, it will be an entirely unattractive color.  With motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream until it is all blended.  Chill slightly before serving.  Serve with crackers or bagel crisps.  And again, yes, it will be the most awful color you can imagine for food, but really, it is quite yummy.

Apples and Camembert

1 round camembert
3-4 apples (sweet, crispy preferably)

Unwrap camembert and place in center of serving plate.  Wash and core apples.  Sllice apples into 8-16 pieces depending on size of apple.  Arrange arond cheese.  Serve thin wedges of cheese on apples in place of crackers.


Salmon Packets (serves 4)

4 salmon fillets, about 6 oz. each
1 cup plain couscous
1/2 cup toasted pistachio nuts
5 green (or spring) onions, chopped
zest and juice of one orange
¼ cup dry sherry or port
2 ½ tbls soy sauce
2 ½ tbls mirin 
1 tbl sesame oil
1 ½ tbls grated fresh ginger
4 cups baby spinach

1.        Get grill going
2.       In small bowl, combine couscous, cashews, scallions and orange peel. Set aside.
3.       In measuring cup, whisk together orange juice, sherry, soy sauce, mirin, 1 tbl sesame oil and ginger. Set aside.
4.       Tear off four sheets foil and fold each in half to form a rectangle. Brush the center of each lightly with sesame oil. Divide the couscous among the packets. Top each with 1 cup spinach and fish. Fold the edges up, but before sealing, pour ¼ of the marinade sauce into each packet and then seal.
5.       Grill over indirect, medium heat with the lid down for 25 minutes.


I made the packets ahead of time and put them in the fridge.  Worked a charm.  Also, we had a vegetarian joining us, so I replaced the salmon in her packets with some extra firm tofu that I marinated ahead of time.  I brushed on a bit of sesame oil, some salt, pepper and garlic powder and added a splash of red wine.  I turned it once or twice while marinating for about 2 hours.  


Georgiann and Roger brought a variety of beer to have with the appetizers and we served the Huber Vignoles at dinner.  It's a semi-sweet white wine (about as sweet as you'll ever find Matt and me drinking) but it was a great compliment to a meal with a light, asian taste to it.  I'd suggest a Reisling or even Gewurtzetraminner, or perhaps a blend, in place of the Vignoles if needed.  

For dessert I served an ice cream pie - very easy.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tbls margarine
2 cups rice crispies
quart to half gallon mint chip ice cream

in a double boilers (or in the microwave if you're one of those people that can manage it - I'm nto), melt the butter and chocolate chips until the chips are all melted.  Take off the heat and stir in the crispies.  Allow to cool 5 mins.

Line a 9" pie tin with tin foil and then waxed paper (or a parchment round works, too.)  Pour the crispies mix into the pie tin and spread evenly.  Place in freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready, remove the tin foil and wax paper, with the crust formed in them, from the pie tin and gently peel back the foil/waxed paper.  Replace the crust into the pie tin.  Allow the ice cream 10 minutes to soften, then spread into crust.  The actual recipe calls for a quart, but that seemed chintzy to me, so I piled in the whole half gallon container of ice cream.  Yum!  Refreeze the pie until firm, about 2 hours.

Add in good beer, good wine, good conversation and good weather and you will have as great a time as we did.  If we can actually find some time in August, the next one's at the Hany's.  You know, a weekend when none of us have family here (not that we don't love you all!), when the Scrapbook Corner Four aren't going to the Ren Faire in Michigan, when Matt and I aren't in Boston... yeah.  You may not hear much from me in August!

They have sent the Coast Guard into Johnson County, Indiana.    I somehow doubt that's a place most Coasties ever thought they'd be sent.  Then again, we've had a lot of rain.  A lot.  I-65 is closed from just south of Indianapolis to Edinburgh, about 50-60 miles.  SR 31 is closed in large stretches (which has got to make north-south travel really tough because those are the two major routes and if they're flooded, you can bet the surface streets are, too.)  Parts of I-70 in western Indiana are closed.  Terre Haute, in the southwester corner of the state, has a foot of water in many parts.  We don't quite need an ark yet, but it's getting close.  Much more rain and I won't be surprised to see pairs of animals marching by.

We had a series of bad storms in our area over the past week, including some tornadoes.   Where  we live, in Hamilton Co., we rarely get tornadoes, so we are very lucky.  This week, Indianapolis, especially the eastside, was nto so lucky.  Tonight on the news was a report about the sporting good store Finish Line.  They are based in Indianapolis, not far from the major damage.  The company made the decision to help out with supplies, like clothing and shoes, for these people who have had their lives uprooted.   You know, there are times when corporations are not all that terrific, but there are also times when the people in charge step up and do the right thing.  Kudos to Finish Line for doing just that.

 www.snopes.com

'S'all I'm sayin', people.  

Check it.  Use it.  Live it.