Gather Ye Rosebuds

So, the weekend. Yeah. Saturday was pretty laid back. Went to the mall and got a few things... a halter top and a lightweight coat (not on the website anymore) that was on sale from Gap kids (no groaning please). Went to Old Navy afterward and browsed...found things I wanted, but had already spent money on the top and jacket. The mandarin collar jacket at Old Navy has gone down in price now too. Even though I have just gotten a coat, I want both...I guess it is a girl thing. And yes, I know summer is coming (hence the sales!) but I am one to get cold easily, and having something versatile that I can throw over a short-sleeved shirt or tank as needed (like entering a cold building) would be good. Popped our "new Publix" cherry too. Hooray! The Publix near our apartment just opened, and it being 2 minutes away is *so* much better than the one 5 minutes away! :p

Sunday started slow. Chas, and our weekend guest, left for KSC (Kennedy Space Center) at 7 am. I couldn't really get much sleep after that but got up around 10 or so. Called nymphie to see if we were getting together. synthestatic answered but, unfortunately I called a little too early and spoke to sleepy people. So sorry. I was barely awake myself. Told her to call back when she got up to see if we were going to get together. While waiting/checking email and journal, shyystarr called and she came over briefly and then we headed to the closest of the 3 nearby Starbucks' for frappuccinos. All 3 are within 5-10 minutes...no side by side locations or across the street ones just yet! :) She got her fave...mocha with extra sauce, and I decided to try the toffee nut instead of my usual caramel. It were yummy...and so massively and sickly sweet...it was great! Got the call from nymphie and we made plans to meet at a nearby park a little bit later, so in the meantime, shyystarr took me to the cemetery and I saw Brandon's grave for the first time ever. I was in LA at the time of the funeral, and somehow had never been there before. I learned a lot more about him then. From there we went to the park and waited. We chatted, and at one point were AIMing each other with our cell phones! nymphie arrived and we all went for a walk by the lake. On the way we saw a dead bird on the ground. It was really sad. This bird had had a beautiful long neck and it was flat on the ground. We were all a bit moved, then moved because of the smell. shyystarr went her separate way, and nymphie and I headed to the shrine that is Whole Foods. Bless the Whole Foods! Stopped at a friend's place for her to pick up something she'd left there the night before after that. The drive through old Winter Park and Orlando was so nice. Then headed to my place for me to pick up a few things including my swim suit and Eddie Izzard tape (cuz "bunnies are for shagging" and it was Easter). Got back to her apartment and we talked a bit, drank white tea and ate food, went to the hot tub, talked some more. synthestatic joined while we were having our girly talks. Hah! But apparently he did not mind. Once we were back inside, he cooked up the sausages we'd bought at Whole Foods earlier with some yellow rice and we sat down to watch the tape. We had our first rain/thunder/lightening storm of the season then. It was kinda neat. After that was over, it was time for me to go home and they brought me back. Luckily the rain had died down by that point. Chas got home shortly after I did. Time just really flew by, and I had such a good time with everyone. :)

Dammit! Where is our stinking copy of I Who 2 ???!!! I have given up on trying to get through The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (sorry Lawrence), but I *know* there is important "arc" information in it, and I cannot skip to the next Eighth Doctor story without completing it. I know this is the book where we meet Sabbath, but I haven't gotten very far in the story, certainly not far enough to really catch the plot, or to figure out who Sabbath is, and what he is doing there, or why he is in the following books. So of course I want the short short version of the story, which I Who 2 can provide (thank you Lars!)... and I just cannot find it!!! I suppose I'm not being fair the the Past Doctor stories, but even so, I can only read so many of those before wanting to read more Eighth Doctor ones. And I am very curious to read more stories, especially Mad Dogs and Englishmen. With a title like like, and the fact I like the author's writing, why wouldn't I like it? Plus, in addition to it being the 100th novel, the book's cover is hot pink with a poodle toting a gun and a cigarette on it! On the other hand, I loved, loved, loved Alien Bodies which Lawrence wrote years ago, but this book is a different approach at writing a story. This book is a whole different kettle of fish as they say. Ack!

Must...find...I Who 2...

I made an easy, healthy dinner with ingredients from my pantry tonight. Hurrah! No special ingredients needed! I have this cookbook that has "pantry" meals and this was one of them. Ok, so I didn't exactly have every single ingredient, but I have the common sense to know what good substitutions I had that I could use. And I even upped the ante a little on the recipe of extra pantry items I had that I could use. So what was my famed healthy, fast, pantry meal? Curried fish with rice. It called for tuna or salmon in a can, frozen spinach, some Indian spices, rice, and broth. I also tossed in a handful of dried lentils. Because it was just me tonight, I had to cut the recipe in half and I still have enough for leftovers. For my substitutions, I did not have any cayenne pepper so I swapped it with a little paprika for color, and red pepper flakes for the heat. I also did not have any ground corriander or cardamom, but I *do* have an Indian spice mix called "garam masala" which has them in it, so I just used a dash of that instead. The rest was easy peasy: melt oil, butter or ghee in a pot, add the spices and stir a minute or so, add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer 20-30 minutes. I found I had to add more stock and cook a little longer because the lentils needed it. I probably should have cooked them separately and added them in partway, but part of cooking is the learning process. I'll know for next time. Anywho, it tastes good. I can email the recipe for those interested.

So long for now.


"I'm the operator with my pocket calculator (beep..boop....boooo)...By pressing down a special key it plays a little melody..."

Chas' boss(es), or rather one of his clients is driving me mad. Really. It seems they have no regard for him, and his personal life. I hate to say it, but I feel that they treat him like he is one of their dogs! Now there are positives to them. First, they are the only client paying him regularly for services, and second, they are providing him with a cell phone. The latter is for their own needs and desires though. See, Chas is freelance and he does jobs for many people at a time, and one time they were so desperate to reach him because he was out, that they decided to get him the cell so he could be more reachable. Now one of his jobs is to review movies and he will not have it on in the theater so that is their problem. But seriously, the cell is like an "electronic leash" as he puts it. Take this for example: In February, we were on vacation in Los Angeles, and they called him to do some work! Lucky for them a) he has a portable hard drive, b) this portable drive has a clone of our machine on it and c) he had it with him. So he spent a day of our vacation working on a project even though he told them well in advance we were going on vacation, and for how long.

Everything is a crisis to them.

Everything. And the problems are ALWAYS Chas' fault until they realize he did nothing wrong at all. They put so much pressure on him. So yesterday, I had to get up early to call in because of my doctor appointment later that morning, and they called just as I was getting back in to bed to sleep a few more hours before going to my appointment. It was like barely 8am. I answered the call since I was up. What a freakin' mistake that was. Because as usual, they were having a crisis and he had to fix it right away. Mind you he worked all night and had just gotten down to sleep a mere few hours earlier. They said threatening things about him to me on the phone...saying threatening things about my huggy bear is NOT a way to get on my good side. Let me tell you. Anyhow, he is like, "I will call them back later," or something. I had to be the meanie and get him up to talk to them so he should fix said crisis. So the phone rings at 8:30 this morning. Guess what? I did not answer it. I had a feeling it was them, and I was not going to be the middle man again between them and be the meanie. I mean, he worked ALL night on their stuff, and literally came to bed as my alarm started to go off. So I let the machine get it, and decided if it was someone else worth something really important, I could pick up, or call them back or whatever. And it was them. "Chas, we can't open the attachment. You need to change this or that...blah blah blah...bitch moan complain and I am going to call until I get you," or something to that effect. Now I know Chas well enough to know that when he sends attachments and things, a) he uses standard encoding, and b) he tried to send it in the easiest of the standard formats to prevent problems like this. Now if they can't read it, whose fault is it really? And is it worth pissing him off by calling really early in the morning? Anyhow, I told him about the message while he was in that groggy state of mind and he eventually answered, and why yes, he sent it in .jpg form, a standard format.

Argh. They make me mad, they do.

For dinner tonight, I made a 2 1/2 pound london broil and some roasted potatoes. Nothing too fancy, but I did a really good job, and I am proud of myself. :)

( For those who want details... )

"Mmmm. You make me want to make a casserole."

Usually, when I cook, I don't do anything special. I may change clothes so it will be easier. But sometimes, I put on my apron...the apron my brother got for me from an old lady in a market somewhere in Moscow while he was on his journeys a few years ago. Whenever I put it on, I am usually making something more elaborate, and I always feel so special wearing it. I feel like the accomplished home cook who is renowned in her family and the rest of the village. I feel as if I could cook anything! I really feel amazing! So tonight's dinner...Rosemary Focaccia, Ceasar Salad, Tuscan Chicken and Beans, and Chocolate Cherry Decadence. I was going to make the focaccia and the chocolate cake for my Pampered Chef party this weekend, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to cancel it. So it is part of dinner. I wish I had the baking skills to make them from scratch, but the boxed mixes will have to do. The focaccia is pretty much by hand...just yeast flour, water, oil and seasoning packet. Yeast and flour are pre-measured but essentially I am making it by hand. The salad and dressing are bagged. Does anyone make their own salads anymore? As for the chicken dish, it is a recipe I saw in the recipe cart at the front of the Publix store and decided to make. I picked up the ingredients I needed while I was there and it looks good. Chicken tenderloins cut in bite-sized pieces cooked with white beans, rosemary, and sun dried tomatoes. Broth and a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce...and I might add a touch of pesto to the sauce. We'll see. I kinda want to time it so that Chas gets home and it is still warm, but I don't know exactly when that will be. I guess I will start it soon. I have the focaccia dough mixed and it is rising in my cabinet right now. Once that is done, it won't take long to cook. I don't have to eat right away because (bless shyystarr--thank you so much!!) I had my much desired avgolemono soup a short while ago. Ahhh....

Well I should check the focaccia and see how it has risen so far. Guess I should get the rest started too.

So long and farewell!

My parents are on their way over to pick me up and take me to dinner. I think I may get my avgolemono soup after all. I know that will make me feel better. A nice big bowl of hot soupy goodness made from the heart. Yum!

Another reason why I love Alton Brown and Good Eats:

I was just thinking back to last night when I was watched the "egg" episode (actually, one of several episodes on eggs) on the pvr from the night before. He was making quiche basically, and at one point he shows a number of pie tins with a variety of ingredients in each...smoked salmon and asparagus, spinach, artichoke, and parmesan, etc. And he saved the best for last. He pours the egg mixture in the final tin which he explains has a fruity port salut (cheese) and SPAM. No sooner than his utterance of the last word, we all hear "Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam..." in the background (badly done I might add) to which he says something to the effect of "turn it down over there" and gets back to the show. Quoting Monty Python in a cooking show, even done as badly as it was, still gets coolness points in my book.

Alton Brown = Monty Python fan?

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."
- Aristotle


Kind of ironic posting that here. Heh.