no...I am not ready to tackle that just yet. I do like the idea of cleaning the hell out of the house--to get rid of dusty bad luck. But
it has been so bloody cold lately (Gertie's water dish keeps freezing solid) my knees aren't hip to much but playing video games. Maybe reading...baby I am on vacation.
seems to have caused much mayhem in the animal residents of BellyAcres. Luna is completely addicted to wrestling in the snow. Despite Jarvis' best attempts to ignore her she insists upon hourly romps. She absolutely luxuriates in the stuff. Meanwhile Jarvis much prefers to sit on the back of the loveseat and stare out the window watching the birds at the feeder. Of course I understand, if snow clung to the fur on my legs forming little balls of ice I would stay inside too! He needs a new tummy protection device (LGD sweater).
Speaking of birds--Gertrude seems immune to the temperature drop...well not completely immune, she is definitely in LO-Power. I clearly remember a day in late fall that the temp got down into the 30s and she sort of flew into the side of the house. That was my first real indicator that her cognitive abilities are directly linked to the outside temps. We got her a lizard heating rock which she avoids; at least when we are looking and she has yet to poop on it. But she is totally "chill" (get it?) she just fluffs up her feathers and eats her mealworms. No worries. And when you clean the coop she kinda purrs... instead of Ba-Racking. But she is bright eyed and cheerful. She still hasn't laid an egg, supposedly "production" drops off in the winter. She seems to like Kale.
Frank is clueless. It is a happy damp 70F in his world and he likes it that way.
I am s'posed to be addressing holiday cards and "updating" the over flowing old address book to a new shiny one. I need a break because in the last two pages I have had to cross off three entries because that person DIED. bleh.
they go to American Gods on vacation.... Fina tipped me off to a new Vash novel. The author is Lori Handeland and the title is Any Given Doomsday. So far so good, kinda Stephanie Plum-ish w/supes.
One of my favorite Virginia Woolf pieces is Mrs. Dalloway. I think I have mentioned this before...anywho--Tuesday morning in the rain that should have been snow I did some Hollydaze shopping and frankly, somebody should have taken my picture (with all my colorful shopping bags) and used it for a PR poster promoting buying local. After parking for free in the city lot; I stopped into VGkids and placed an order for Isabel (heads up fans!! Monday Monkey is on his way!!) and then once the precious orginal art was safely to it's place of reproduction HERE, I toddled down to see Paul at The Rocket my favorite place to drop $50 holiday dollars--seriously, if we are having a party-- I get stuff from Paul. He has the best stuff: from theme candies to pinatas to smutty beer coasters, so the stocking stuffers were acquired and I moved back into the dreary gray rain. Now with my bright green Shakespeare umbrella and my little black VGkids bag (proudly sporting their logo!) I added bright red bag of treats from The Rocket, then I peered in the window of Look in The Attic and decided other people should shop there (FOR ME!!!) --then for the first time since they opened I perused the wares of Simply DeVine. It was no Henrietta Fahrenheit that was for sure, same space but VERY different goods to purchase. And purchase I did!! The girl working the counter was really sweet and we giggled and talked and I joined their email list. I saw some great gifty ideas and purchased some awesome reusable gift boxes. The customer service was Excellent and I ended up with another bag of consumer goods-- this one white and sprouting beautiful green tissue protecting my purchases. As I walked back to the car I caught a glimpse, in the reflective window of an interesting new art studio, of me with my umbrella & festive cheerful bags--seriously... I looked picturesque.
Well yesterday was a pretty special day for Potterheads in the 'hood. Not only did The Tales of Beedle the Bard finally arrive at Belly Acres (via UPS) about 4:15. I got all my work done in the morning and waited for it to come all day, obviously UPS had no idea how crack like Rowling's words are to me--I waited by the window like a little kid waiting to see Santa's sleigh. Once it arrived I reverently opened the special packaging and DEVOURED IT!! The new stories (and Dumbledore's notes!!!) were just long enough to keep me busy while Pete & Izzy were at their music lessons. They got home about 5:30 and we scarfed down our shrimp and udon (yes, I can finally face cooking Japanese again) we headed back into campus to enjoy a fantastic live musical performance by Tonks and the Aurors. click!! her myspace is here
After a rowdy set (is it unprofessional to wrock w/ one's students?) she screened a viewing of Megan and Mallory Schuyler's newly released WROCKumentary. (wizard + rock=WROCK) The auditorium in the EMU student center was about half full so I am guessing close to 100 people* showed up for the great tunes (Tonks/Stephanie has a lovely voice) but not everybody hung out till the end of the movie. We did!-- despite Isabel getting a little antsy near the end. Zoli and I were rocking!! I especially enjoyed the footage of Alex Carpenter aka Remus and the Lupins as he is my fave wizard rocker, though I tell ya, Miss Stephanie Anderson (aka Tonks) is right behind him in the awesome zone!
Now if we only had the Scottish book....sigh...
In other HP news I am advising a new student group on campus, a HP Reading Group and we had our first organizational meeting Weds. afternoon. We have big plans, they want a Quidditch team to join the existing league, we are going to hold both a filmfest & a cosplay ball next term and ultimately we want EMU to host a Pottercon. Trust me my freaky darlings..you are gonna hear more about this!!
I had no idea that Susan Booth (whom I know through the SCA) was involved with AMP (the campus group sponsoring Tonk's gig)---she chatted me up (pointed out who she was w/out garb!!) and we shall combine forces and save the universe!! Oh Ypsi!! WE are gonna WROCK!!!
*Geo brought her chilldwens too!
I JUST found this--
Tonks and the Aurors
12-04-2008 18:00 at E. Mich Univ.’s AMP festival w/ THE WIZARD ROCKUMENTARY
900 Oakwood Street, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197
Cost: FREE
Come see Tonks & the Aurors AND THE WIZARD ROCKUMENTARY during EMU’s AMP Festival! We’re playing in the Student Center Auditorium from 6-7 and then the film will start around 7. The event is FREE and open to the public!
After picking Luna up from her experience getting spayed at the Clinic instead of our VERY expensive Vet; Izzy and I met a nice young man who was adopting a kitten. Not only was he charming and handsome but his new kitty was adorable. It was the same dark gray color as his fleece jacket and Izzy told him he should name it "Fleece", which he immediately agreed was a great name. In that brief moment Isabel had a little epiphany and decided that her pets were so awesome and lucky that she felt the need to do something helpful for pets who were not so happy. She was inspired by one other little girl who had made blankets for the cats (pink on one side, blue on the other) that the cats could sleep on and take with them to their new home when they got adopted. Izzy immediately got to work not only donating her allowance but collecting change from her teachers and classmates and her visiting aunts & uncles who had gathered at our house last weekend. (Funky Chris & Auntie Gretch even shared their football winnings!) So today, the first day of Thanksgiving break, we drove out to Cherry Hill Rd and donated blankies, and old towels, kitty litter and $46.04 cash.
I have always been very interested in the process of adapting books to screenplays. But I confess, I am a fangirl first. I am quoting Pam Pastor of the Phillipine Daily Inquirer when she points out that Meyer herself felt that Melissa Rosenberg had better be very careful...
..."The original script changed the passage, “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb,” but according to Producer Greg Mooradian, Stephanie (Meyer) suggested that they stick to the original because many girls have tattooed that line on their ankles."
yeah..that is my kind of obsession. I need every director, every producer to be as involved with the script as I am infatuated with the charatcers. The bar has been set quite high--Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh with thier work adapting Tolkien's volumes so vastly supercedes my first real experiences with this concept; that would be Peter Benchley for his work on Jaws and of course Lucas w/Star Wars in '77. Those early boys didn't do a bad job mind you, I'm just saying the BOOKS were light years (get it?) of vividness away from the dull mundanity of special effects. Trust me dear ones, the scene may not be "pretty" in my head but imagination is alive and potent in a way that no mechanical shark or "planet basketball" can begin to touch. Now despite my pride in my own imagination and my preference for the appearance of the characters, One of my favorite 36 hours ever was when Petey and I with R&T (of course!!) sat through a marathon of Jackson's series that ended at midnight when Return of the King was released. I was in heaven.
Not so much with the adaptations of the Harry Potter series. My opinion of those films can be easily summed up.
They suck.
These WB generated atrocities do however provide a nice transitional concept from St. Peter & his lovely Fran to Mr. Alan Ball. Who is confusing me no end. It seems that Ball has created another spawn monster--this one nearly as disappointing as the Harry Potty films. HBO's webpage describes the series thusly,
"A sexy, scary new drama from 'Six Feet Under' creator Alan Ball, 'True Blood' delves into the meticulously-crafted world of novelist Charlaine Harris."
Please excuse me while I laugh hysterically!!! *can't breathe* --- I like Harris' novel's very much. They are witty mysteries frosted with black humor. They are about as deep as a mud puddle-- they are primarily a formulaic vehicle for a quickie mystery (or maybe another kind of quickie if you are into Weretigers named Quinn. grrrrowl). A "beach book", fluff and nonsense. delicious! (You should maybe check out her Shakespeare series---it's not what ya think)
What Ball is doing to these books is like comparing eating a handful of fresh grapes to drinking a full bodied red wine. (or dare I say it? for a vamp...hunting vs a bottle of Trueblood (tm?) Not even the same thing!!! I am sure the producers at HBO have a hand in the soap opera like changes but I wonder if Harris is even in the library let alone on the same page!! The numerous and prolific differences between the text of the books would surely bore you; I could fill three pages. (WHERE is Ball gonna put Bubba* I ask?) And yet...I have to admit...
As with it's previous eyecandy-- Rome and The Sopranos, HBO has some tasty cinematography and Jace Evertt's theme song has wrapped around my spine. I'll be back in the summer for Season Two. Even if Jason isn't a werewolf, Tara is the wrong race and there are no interVamp politics.
*
Elvis' brain dead corpse?
Certain decisions need to go before the executive board--deep fried turkey or roasted?--rolls or loaf o'carbs? What flavors of pie...but one decision we have managed to keep for three years running is all ME!
Thanksgiving is whole--Local and in Season. No strawberries from California...no chemical whip cream. Right now my turkey is still alive. The bird accessories are all local. I even found Michigan cranberries (which have taken THREE DAYS to dehydrate. Getting local yumminess isn't really hard for me.
I got a great email from the Co-op this morning...I'll just let Corrine's words speak for her--
In fact, Ypsilanti Food Co-op’s inventory exceeds 100 local product lines including pastas from Al Dente Pasta, canned vegetables... from Eden Organic (Clinton), Amish eggs, dairy from Calder Dairy (Lincoln Park) and Guernsey Dairy in Northville, breads, pies, and other baked treats from our own River Street Bakery (Ypsilanti), beer from Arbor Brewing (Ypsilanti), and wine from Sandhill Crane Winery (Jackson). --Corinne Sikorski
Some decisions do not need debate.
Isabel is currently enjoying a cartoon called Phineas & Ferb, one of the characters has a distinct British accent. While she was watching the show she commented to noone in particular that she "thought British accents are "sooo coool". Pete and I smiled knowingly to one another and let her enjoy her newfound Anglophile-y ness (Not a big surprise actually considering her 'rents.) The show itself is less nauseating than most Disney pablum... --dear ones, NOTE: we are NOT going to discuss the Wizards of Waverly Place. No. We are not. Of all the crap Disney has produced I find that even more offensive than their gendered stereotypes of female victimization. We are however going to make a big loop from Harry Potter to cooking--you ready??
Ok, so Carol got us a treat. She brought Zander & Ule-dawg over last Friday and we played and bummed around--watching the dogs romp and trying to convince them to act like old cats instead of rambunctious GSD puppies. They of course wanted to nothing to do with knitting or watching movies--well Luna did (post her recent surgery) but Ule was ready for some tag--thankfully it was soon lunch and we warmed up leftover Chinese fud and started talking cooking. (big surprise) And Carol produced the treat--
a packaged British import from Hillers!! YUM! previously I had asked her (knowing full well she too is an Anglophile of the highest caliber) if she was familiar with "treacle tart" which is supposedly Harry Potter's favorite pudding. She-- in an effort to remove some of my provincial attitudes-- was helping me broaden my horizons--we nuked the dessert. As we tasted it she immediately proclaimed it CRAP! and was not interested in further tasting. I personally wasn't offended and ate mine right up!-- unlike she and Pete I have never BEEN to England so I kinda liked the honey undertones of smoky sticky syrup, happily I didn't have a true experience with which to compare this little cake. She however, was disgusted and we launched into a full scale online search where she told me all about Delia the Brit version of Martha Stewart and we giggled about the hilarious blog we stumbled across here.
Our search led us to the various KINDS of treacle and of course the various brands. Including the famous rotting lion mentioned in the blog we found.
We read about Spotted Dick (Andre...hush) and Golden Syrup vs. Black Treacle, sponge cake vs angel food and generally had a lovely afternoon. While we briefly wandered off to Savory puddings such as Yorkshire et al, we didn't really reach any conclusions but we did enjoy pointing out to one another the whole "pudding" thing as being decidedly separate from American ideas of dessert.
So, upon my most recent restocking of the family pantry I purchased (from Hiller's they do have a great import section) a can of Lyle's Black Treacle. I am not sure why..or what I am going to do with it exactly --but the lion is definitely rotting and has flies buzzing above it and the motto on the tin sez..and this is a direct quote,
"Out of the strong came forth great sweetness."
What the....??? EWWWW!!! If I understand the "adVERTisment" correctly--I am supposed to believe that the sticky goo IN the can is rotted lion slime?? That is supposed to be appealing??? I'm s'posed to eat it??? As dessert??? What about the "treacle mines they taunt their children with???"--Decomposing lion??? ummmm No. I don't care if Harry Potter likes it...I'll stick to my familiar American sweetness--like Disney princesses and dessert w/out flies.
from Amazon.uk.com
The Children's High Level Group has permitted Amazon.co.uk to offer 5 children and a parent or guardian the opportunity to attend the tea party at which J.K. Rowling will read an extract from The Tales of Beedle the Bard. To win an invitation to this special event, the parent or guardian of the child aged 8 to 13 can enter The Tales of Beedle the Bard Special Invitation Opportunity Prize Draw. There are 5 prizes to be won. Each prize comprises an invitation for a parent or guardian and their child, aged between 8 and 13, to attend the tea party in Edinburgh, Scotland, at which J.K. Rowling will read an extract from The Tales of Beedle the Bard PLUS an exclusive signed copy of J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard Collector's Edition.
A small holiday in which those who do not have daily access to Zingerman's come to my house and we cook. My Faillen brought pears and kale from the Kzoo Farmer's market (of which I have fond memories and trust me the few fond memories I have of Kzoo are precious!), then she, Garth & Kassia, Me & Petey shopped in Kerrytown, we mostly followed each other around and juggled bags of deliciousness giggling and fantasizing about food porn.
We hit the spice store first and only spent about $40 in there. (Smoked salt, sweet Spanish Paprika and two new colors of pepper... oh hey by the way??--don't snort freshly ground white pepper--NOT a smart move!)
I am sure our comedy troupe was amusing to the general public as we were trying to translate Rollo's instructions (via phone while he laid new flooring at their crib) and not get distracted from THE LIST. Last year we didn't make a list and while everything was incredible--it was...haphazard. This year we had a plan! An actual menu! The chicken, slab bacon & roast beast (grass fed of course) from Sparrow. I love it when Bob Sparrow smiles at me like I am his best friend. Gorgeous Shrimps from Monahan's, salmon from Tracklments.
When I found the red peppers I yelled back to Kassia & Vicky --I FOUND THE PEPPERS!--I know I startled a poor mortal when she jumped about three feet straight up from the fruit stand! But, she had a great sense of humor and yelled right back-- "I found the mushrooms!" Petey & Garth thought they were going to go to the deli w/out us but we womenfolk redirected their cute little asses right back over there and Faillen affirmed the truffle tradition.
Everybody has a dish--Kassia inspired the pesto shrimp & chicken skewers & Rollo finally achieved the chocolate covered bacon we have all been lusting after, and Faillen made a butternut squash risotto with purple Kale. Zoli made Minestrone soup. Izzy was in charge of the fondue into which we dipped challah, banannas, dehydrated raspberries and Zingerman's marshmallows into luscious dark chocolate. She also made her first pastry crust for the pear and cranberry tart. (we forgot the sugar--but it was very light and flaky and married well with the pears) Garth & Pete roasted a slab of bacon over an open fire and then smeared the unctuous dripping onto crusty bread. I was actually alarmed by that and kind of avoided the whole flammable fat on a stick game.
So we snuck in a game of Scrabble (Kassia won) while the beast roasted--OMG! I didn't tell you what we did to the roast!!
A coffee spice rub! Which was a new thing for all of us! For a four lb roast we mixed four tablespoons of freshly ground dark roast coffee, and then one tablespoon each white & red peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder, & dried sage. That mix just smelled like BEEF--succulent gorgeous meaty YUM. Cooked that puppy til it was fork tender.
We had cheese and bread and wine and beers. It was awesome.
Petey drove by our new polling place at 7 this morning and the traffic was lined up 1/4 of a mile outside of the parking lot. I waited till ten--a slow time at the polls and in an effort to not add to the potential car congestion I rode my bike.
It is such a lovely fall day here in Washtenaw County. Unusually warm and bright, colorful leaves and blue skies. A great day for bike ride. I was filled with HOPE as I peddled past the three McCain signs on my route. I knew there were more Obama mama's a mere 2.9 miles away. I would flaunt my rainbow handle bar streamers and my crazy green ways, maybe set an outrageous example of independent thought for the folks who vote in the way of their grandparents. I took perverse pleasure in the sheer number of Green Party candidates listed on the ballot. I smiled as I filled in my bubbles.
Still... It was beyond weird to not go to Estabrook--I have been voting at Estabrook since 1994. I have even judged and observed voters there. But today at Roberto Clemente Elementary--I simply stood in line between one 20 something goober (I shall call him Bubba) and his mom (they completely epitomized the uneducated rural stereotype) and an 18 year old who was voting for her first time. The pride in her mom's face was evident and tho Matt and I didn't have the added drama of helping someone from our race to make history, I do remember the first time HE voted. It is right of passage. I felt all warm and fuzzy when the new voter slipped her ballot into the machine and the workers applauded. Quickly the whole room joined their applause and we welcomed her into adulthood.
I didn't recognize any of the worker's faces (in contrast I knew everybody by name at Estabrook; and in fact could predict how they voted from their yard signs!) but I was pleased to see that there was huge range of voters, soccer Moms w/toddlers in tow, elderfolk, quite a few ladies wearing hijab. Several leathery farmer types--it was comforting that they weren't all "Bubba" types who thought voting for medical marijuana was gonna let them get high legally. Nope, my new neighbors seem pretty damn diverse, and pleasant. The last time I got to experience a huge group of suburbanites was at the TWP meeting for the park last winter. THEY seemed rather...mmm... homogenous.
within 25 minutes I was sporting a new "I VOTED" sticker and was unlocking my bike for the quick trip home.
I can't wait to watch the results roll in. I have a little worm of worry. We have a lot of McCain signs around here. I KNOW that A2 is gonna be solid--but it will be exciting nonetheless.
HOLY CRAP what a cluster F@#!
1-75 by 16 mile is NUTS!!! I hate traffic. By the time we got home from a "quick run" to Macy's to get a rug it was three hours later than we expected. We were both like NO MORE CAR!!! So we vetoed going to Kate & Vickie's party in Kzoo. We suck. I was especially sad when I got Tinn's phone message. He made it sound like he was going to go. So no Jay & Silent Bob this year.This sadness was pushing toward cranky despite Harold's being the most awesome rug salesman in the world. We got a great deal on a rug (75% off!!) No lunch (on purpose cuz I was saving calories for party treats that night) But...Then we got lost by Gorman's furniture store and went up and down the same road three times-- but we did finally start designing from this base
to create our very own unique special one of a kind settee for the library. It should be here in 3-10 weeks. So good karma for the library bad karma for the social life.
Sorry for the delay. NO my darlings I am not dead!! Just Had a little password issue there. Things are better! whew! I must get pictures of the party up and get thru THAT de-briefing. I should also process my "too many hats moment" last week. But first I have 97 midterms to grade!
"Words my lord words..."--Hamlet
I like to collect words.
I think it is a kind of poetry.
and put them together--
not randomly--but intentionally askew.
de-text-collage
Consider the sounds--pretend it is the name of a new band.
like "recycled eclipse" or "polymer frost"
said words must be written
--with intriguing fonts... my new font of inspiration is called "Bleeding Cowboys"
at some point I shall have words tattooed upon my bod and they will be good words in a beatific font.
Petey, Isabel and I went to Cynnabar's anniversary picky nicky back last month and it was fun. Mundane clothing, lots of food and good friends. I kinda figured that was gonna be it for our attendance at Middle Kingdom events (unless Andlecrag does something at Bertha Brock Park when it isn't a blizzard) but Eua/Adrianne talked us into attending the Middle Kingdom Crown Tourney in Dayton, Ohio yesterday, she didn't have to try too hard to convince us once we saw the list of fighters competing for the Princely position.
HOLY CRAP!! Okay maybe we have some friends here in the Middle!! *insert ironic blush* We heart Logan who was fighting for my darling Kate--I mean Mistress Zaynab (In the photo--the Turkish beauty to the left of the corner post). Then the secretive Hisself (Duke Eli) was fighting for the most beautiful red head in the Knowne Worlde and damn it-- if he is gonna pontificate about McCain in my living room I am damn well gonna be there to cheer for him! Even if he doesn't say a word about it. sneaky...like a fox...or a dead possum... Then my drinking buddy Rocky (he is the dude in the helm further left of Kate) shows up to fight for my sewing buddy Ingrid and it was like OMG the whole afternoon was CRAZY! So fun!
There are several things that are still rolling around in my head.
The most obvious thing I have to process is the whole Masonic Lodge thing. Okay ever since my ex & his buddy L. snuck my teenage ass into a nearby (but closed) Masonic Lodge to see what was so "secret", well dear ones-- I was duly freaked out by the bizarre Egyptian embroidery, the straight jacket (!?) and the freaky alter (I still have no idea why they needed such a kick ass sound system) I have been a little wiggy about Masons. Might been the herbal supplements involved that long ago day (damn ginseng keeps ya up all night!) but it wasn't till I read Diana Gabaldon that I had a more mature view of this wonderful group of guys. Flash to the near past...(I know flashing is usually reserved for FWDs but ya'll know I am a Lost (tm) fan and thus enamoured of flash backs--to the future or not) and to our recent trip to Bemidji, wherein the Masonic Lodge was the site of the Japanese Feast for My King--but that site was not nearly so..ahem... regal as this Dayton, OH chapter. In Bemidji things were not as glamourous, polished or just damn impressive as the site at this past weekend's event. It was beautiful. Large heavy antiques, massive fireplaces and gleaming marble floors and columns invoked a medieval setting. The only thing I can even begin to critique is the carpet remnants they used for the list field. But I would leave that to an actual fighter to debate as my opinion that "it looks dangerous" is not based on any useful experience.
It was a fun event and I have to admit it was nice to not have to drive for 6-15 hours. But my heart is in Northshield.
My girl wants to be "a guest at a Masquerade". Who am I to say "No."?? 
Isn't she gorgeous?
Not all Plumbers, especially not my crew from HutzelPlumbing (without whom I would be a blubbering pile of protoplasm in the corner of the room)--just the fictional character made up by *the other guy*
last night during the debate. I shall not be manipulated!!!
It is too damn chilly to be stupid right now. The weather is of course rapidly segueing into wet cold Michigan. That would be because Punkin Day is coming up. It seems to have to snow on Punkin Day. Petey claims he is gonna make the barn warm somehow...we'll see.
Did you know what I learned during my summer of Medieval Japanese Food Research? Actually-- the first thing I learned was don't volunteer for an event 800 miles from your fave grocery store. But one other cool thing I learned was that unlike Western Brides who crave a matched set of china and silver...Japanese Brides tend to desire dishes not only for each person (esp the tea cup & chopsticks) but adapt their dishes to the season. Isn't that cool? I LOVE that idea.
Well this morning would certainly be the day to switch from summer dishes to plateware colored for Fall. Both of the big Maples have dropped about half of their leaves and socks finally seem necessary. brrrr.
Took the kids to see Romeo & Juliet on Sunday.click here
There are three more shows:
October 16 : 7 p.m.
October 17 : 7 p.m.
October 18 : 7 p.m.
Tickets are Priced at $15 or $12 for students.
Zoli loved all the "bawdy humor" and the fencing. After the clapping Isabel turned & looked at me and said, "THAT was AWESOME!" It was a very solid performance. The director edited the text quite a bit--it seemed "condensed"--but it was hilarious in the funny bits and made me cry in the sad bits. The Nurse stole the show!
Jenn McKee from the A2 News quoted the director, Chicago based David Blixt, in her recent mlive piece; where she noted that-he has been listening to Italy's current pop music hits. -"Including some really awesome, horrendous, wonderful Italian rap,".
Why? Because his cast is playing "Romeo" as if the story's taking place now.--That is what sold the show for Z. The rave props, the club clothes (Yay Melisant!!)--very hip ..in a geeky euro trash way. It was fun. You should go.
Carol & I went to Makielsi's Berry Farm last Friday. It is about a mile from the house. We had beautiful weather and Zander was just the most charming little 3.5 year old pooper. He was busy for a good hour just stuffing his face full of berries. It was fun to watch him. It reminded me of all the times I took my kids (who are now faaaaar too cool to go pick berries with mom) and when they got bored (or stuffed) told them to find rocks for me. Zander dutifully found four rocks and moved them around the patch with us. I remember one time I tried this distraction trick w/ Zoli and he ended up lobbing an egg sized rock at an old guy who was picking strawberries several rows over. WHOOPS!! Happily Zanny did NOT throw the stones he just toted them around. It was so sunny and pleasant, the morning had that sparkling blue sky with crisp sunshine that just makes every leaf glow and every cloud a fluffy white contrast of eye candy.
So in about two hours I got a little over six quarts. The Makielski's also sell honey...guess what I'm a gonna make???
In the last few days I have experienced a lot of "knee jerk reactions". (Can you hear my dad's voice? I can.)
I have, of course-- been interacting with my fellow humans. I am watching their responses to stimuli. It scares me. For example...my students. SOME of them are in such a rush to get out the door that they hurry through everything--they read quickly--thus skipping vital plot points. They scan the quiz questions and hurriedly fill in any answer, but are surprised that they don't score well.
Or the cable guy who came out to finish a job that someone didn't do correctly the first time...(Again I hear my daddy's mantra.."Do it right the first time and you won't have to do it twice.") The cable guy was Grumpy and Pissy and stompin' around because I don't want a tangled spaghetti mess of wires hanging off the side of my pretty purple house. And it isn't just the co-axial cable aspect of COMCAST (tm) that is being convoluted and dumb. Their phone menu is knitted in a Fair-isle pattern and they don't deal well with problem outside of their FAQ's.
Back a while ago the broccoli tree fell on Jim's garage. The cable running from the pole to the Wallace house became disconnected. So in response to Pete's request for repair the company came out to the Crane rd house and put little flags in the yard!! Somebody read the work order--but didn't actually THINK before they responded...
...sorta like the MichCon (tm) crew who came out to install THE METER for the gasline--with the giant tractor of trenchline-y ness; when in fact that had been done last Fall. Again some dispatcher decided to be "efficient" (w/out actually reading the whole file) and sent out unnecessary crew, equipment and created MORE paperwork. Really we just need the meter! The propane is almost gone! I just want my stove connected to my gasline! Pretty simple actually..if you read carefully.
WHAT HAPPENED?? Wasn't it just August?
I am not even sure where to start, the garden? yeah--let's start there. I have made a connection between not only my need to do some yoga but also my need to futz in the garden. The season is shifting and the less I garden the grumpier I am. Don't get me wrong I love teaching--but the garden doesn't seem like "work". It makes me happy to be outside. Example of happy? It cracks me up no end that Luna will bring me a tennis ball and drop it beside me (where I am unlikely to notice it--what with my head buried in tomato plants or basil) and she will wait till I realize she has deposited the drippy green sphere--which I then absent-mindly lob off into the woods and i get to watch her run. She is a beautiful dog. That is far more pleasurable then defending the wording of an item on a quiz (which 85% of the class understood but these particular students decided to read carelessly so it is MY fault they filled in the wrong bubble. (Ummm. NO.) Or stuck in my little concrete cell of an office--maybe not cell--how about oven? Gack--too stuffy. No window... I may be developing claustrophobia in there!
But the garden--my pretty green space...it is rapidly becoming my half dead and dried up space. Many leaves are turning black and I am sure that tonight will be the clincher--s'posed to get down to 40F tonight. Now I realize my Northshield peeps will be shaking their heads at my whining about 40--when in fact a month ago they had a hard freeze in Minnesota, but my knees are telling me Fall is upon us.
Depress the clutch and shift into third...straight drive to icy sidewalks!
The chicken seems quite insistent that I blog about her. Please, let me indulge my chicken...
Last night about 8ish Isabel went outside to complete the task Matt & Dan have termed "chicken wrangling". Apparently Gertrude is not easy to catch if she doesn't know you. While Izzy & I have little problem and Zoli simply has to appear outside and the chicken is drawn to him like a feathery magnet; It seems that Whilst they were in charge, at various time this summer; Matt and poor Dan (my "good" college age son) had a hell of a time bringing her poultry ass back in at night. She apparently has no fear of raccoons or coyotes, both of which we know full well are in close proximity, and she prefers to "hide" and laugh at the silly humans trying their best to protect her. So, last night was a perfectly ordinary Weds. night and starting to get darker and Iz took it upon herself to "tuck in" her beloved chicken.
About five minutes into the expected routine (it usually takes a second to find her) we hear Isabel's voice has gone up an octave or two and has that tense tone--"Daaaaad" her voice cuts in through the dining room window. "I need somebody tall." The alarm in her voice roused us all from our DVR/Daily Show haze and we quickly emerged onto the back porch. The chicken has been known to chide Izzy (or myself) in our tardy habits by ensconcing herself on the cushioned furniture of the back porch if she feels it is time to bed down for the night. After we wander around the yard clucking and "here chicken-ing" somebody will notice she is sitting there, smugly snuggled on the bench or nestled into a chair cushion. The world's most spoiled chicken. HOWEVER! last night she was not perched on the rail (in order to peek in the windows), nor was she contentedly snoozing on the lawn chair--no dear one, Gertrude had in fact perched herself on the banner of fairy flags, (similar to Tibetan prayer flags) we have strung across the back porch. There she was swinging like grade schooler at recess, perfectly happy--except Iz couldn't reach her and Isabel was pretty sure Gertrude was going to fall. I was laughing so hard, and quite sure that if I took the time to swap out the lens I would miss the moment--but I did get some shots, blurry tho they are-- Zoli was adamant that I blog about it immediately. But I am not about to be told what to do by a 13 year old nor a chicken. I ignored that advice...
Until today...
When- as I was unloading groceries, I noticed Gertrude was quite busy flipping something floppy around the yard. Now generally she is all over largeish bugs, fat bumblebees and grasshoppers etc, and that seems quite normal. You may recall our adventure with the tomato worm that recently attacked me-- and you might if you are a true believer; you will certainly remember the day she got her FIRST Toad. She has since gotten several toads, but this afternoon she has branched out into the mammalian realm and had indeed procured herself a tiny mole! NOW we have something to write about! It was about three inches long and missing most of its entrails. My vicious mole killing chicken. Free range has a whole new meaning!
EWWWWW!!!
For all my freaky darlings who count themselves as Viking--EWWWWWWW!!!!!
I finished the horrible little book I mentioned back in August--The Voyage of the SS by Frenchman Bernard du Boucheron. Okay, it wasn't REALLY about Vikings--persay--But well--yeah.
I mean can a novel that features catholicism, cannibals, gangrene, and "A modest proposal" on a Viking style ship really be taken seriously? I loved the narrative from the First chapters-- it read like an historic document--then a personal log from an omniscient narrator who is so overwhelmed by his situation he just goes on auto pilot--finally the last chapter is written from somebody else's PoV (not quite sure who--) and this chapter really drives home the point that maybe missionaries aren't as awesome as they think they are. It was gruesome to say the least and the grotesque amputations were described with gleeful greed. The tale of a colony of Roman Catholics marooned in medieval Greenland by the encroachment of a new ice age. I was almost sympathetic til I realized he probably only kept his son as a snack for the voyage home.
We have had the most beautiful weather. I adore Fall. The temps are perfect. The leaves are starting to turn and the garden is wrapping up.
Today the chimney sweep guy comes. I look forward to pleasant "recreational" fires in our clean fireplace-- as opposed to heating the whole house like we did last winter.
And I should take down the cucumber trellis. It looks dumb. Those plants have been "done" since before coronation. I am at once sad to realize it is fall but when I look back through my gardening notebook (an actual hard copy binder, with handwritten dates/temps and hauls) and see how many cucumbers we got from three seeds I am pretty damn proud of myself... and look at this 'mater!! 
Veggies aren't the only thing growing--Isabel and Gertrude are in a race to see who will grow faster.
Besides trellis removal I need to tidy up the chicken pen. That is such a misnomer. It was a successful chicken pen for about four weeks. Once Gertrude was big enough to not squeeze thru the slats she figured out she could fly over the top!! Bleh. It did make a nice retirement home for Roxy's bunny. For four weeks--then old age caught up with Ribbett and he now has his favorite resting place forever.
So yeah--I have some work to do. get the garden tidied up before Compost Day!
I finished another project this morning while I watched Man U limp away from a tie game with Chelsea. Sweet Jesus!! Eight yellow cards?? Speaking of yellow. I am sick of yellow. AND! I do not like eyelash yarn. Let that be noted. Bitching aside--I am pleased that this "infinity knot" is cast off (THAT was a nightmare--like juggling numchucks). Izzy has dubbed it the "fluff scarf" and is prancing around the house singing "I have a orange sherbet cloud on my neck!!". It *is* very soft but this project got especially interesting when the puppy grabbed the ball of yarn and was in the kitchen before I could yell STOP!! Two rows of 350 stitches unraveled but at least I didn't look like this dork!"
The house now has a lovely fresh coat of vibrant purple--and a layer of sunblock. This pic was taken very close to the end of the process; so the old faded purple is still showing on the tool shed. Steve & Rick (my clever painter boys) have moved onto the garage doors. If the dude who makes his living painting wooden things sez maybe you should get aluminium siding-- you start doing research.
The Northshield Coronation of Kitadate-denka & Aesa was beautiful.
With it's medieval Japanese feast behind me I now look at the remaining items on the To-Do List.
and I can't...I am just too whipped.
Not from the feast which was an adrenal rush all it own..."ya sure you betcha!"--But really because of the journey. We shortened our time at the post revs ( it does seem impossible to have 'just one drink' w/Thomas) & we entirely skipped the breakfast plans in order to be in time for the Sunday return (6pm) ferry in Milwaukee, but alas--despite failing to dissuade us on the first leg of our round trip tickets--(five foot waves may be nothing on the Ocean but on Lake Michigan they are deceptively tippy.) In fact, at one point no sooner did I snatch my pen as it rolled off the table to the right then I set it down and it immediately rolled off the table to the left. If you glanced out the down side windows you could see the waves splashing against the window if you quickly glance to the other side view there was nuthin but sky. Hurricane Ike decided to wreck his vengeance. Not only did "they" cancel the return Ferry trip BUT the highway by Chicago was washed out. Our trip continued to grow by hours--sadly ironic considering how quickly we abandoned our friends in order to be prompt. Thus our glee when Gwenyth, John, Ian & Siri all agreed to have dinner with us. We could slow down now because our schedule was our own. Where we had planned on being home by midnight--our heads hitting the pillows was actually more like 3:30a.m. Then we got Z to school at 7:55 and I gave my students their quizzes. Oi.
Now some of my dear readers maybe familiar with my newfound penchant for motion sickness, these readers could exclaim--"Oh Daye, you poor thing, weren't you all squiffy--riding in a car watching all those towering pine trees zoom by?" Happily I have embraced Dramamine and once I got over my pill popping that wasn't such a problem--it is a beautiful country, mature forest, rolling farms and some of the biggest cows I have ever seen. Yet this moring I am still slightly "woogy", the scenic beauty of Wisconsin and Minnesota is not antidote to wobbly brain.
My brain doesn't seem to want to keep up with my eyeballs. Lightheaded doesn't sum it up. Very odd and discombobulating.
But back to the routine--I have to grade all those papers my pen was so diligently trying to avoid--the ones about fairy tales and hero's journeys. At least my princess is now a queen!!
Here are a couple of shots from Saturday night--the rest of the pics are at my .mac album HERE. I'll prly put some up on Facebook so this is just a little teaser.
Here we have LG. MED & Short Matt's. (Cracks me up four days later!!)
Barn season has begun and I lucked out big time for this party-- all I had to do was order the keg!! It was a teamwork kinda let's get this gig together night. See, not all committees are bad! The ringleader was definitely BIKEMAN!!-- Not only did he deal with the bat poo, but my fave party instigator made this brilliant cold milk spurting chocolate cake! Twas Delish!
Kids ran wild, dogs frolicked, babies giggled. Grown women on the midnight trampoline run. We cooked wienies and played scrabble, ate too many marshmallows --tho not enough cuz Stacy wanted to be sure EVERYBODY had plenty of processed sugar--whooo--- s'more's EVERYWHERE! Ray tried to break his ankle tripping over the dog but happily he failed, just a sprain.
We drained the beer barrel which always makes me happy--there is little sadder than half barrel of warm beer. There were some awesome salads and the Japanese pickle experiments all got tasted.
But best of all the good doctors got to celebrate their birthdays with fam & friends!
I love Detroit. My opinion may be skewed but I do love it. This past few weeks I have had ample opportunity to evaluate big cities and I know "the big D" is not perfect but don't tell me it is "dead"--because in one weekend we had the Grand Prix, The Jazz Fest, a home Tiger's game the annual Labor Day parade and HELLO!!! BARACK OBAMA!!! EEEEP!!!
Judging from the news reports (NPR) this morning, Detroit wins in my "pleasant place to be contest"-- even with it's defunct and lying "hip hop" mayor in jail, we still had fewer arrests than MSP who is hosting the GOP! And our Koegels (tm) kick Central Park Wienies any day! So speaking of public parks,
Here I am in Hart Plaza. We were there for the music. Smoking jazz. mmmmmgood. Petey led and I followed. He was very happy. I was happy he was happy. We sat in the shade by the river and listened to Jazz all afternoon. It was all good. Grabbed a ruben at Foran's an Irish pub Chris & Gretchen favor. (with good reason!)
I especially enjoyed the incredible Hot Club of Detroit. HOLY CRAP!! They were amazing. We had fantastic second row seats (right behind Evan Perri's grandma!) and all they did was assure me that I LOVE THEM! They played a lot of cuts from their new album (which I got signed...swooon. They had a special guest, Kruno-- sit in for several songs and he sang... insert happy girl purr. But I did about melt into my shoes when Julian (accordion guy) was signing my CD-- I very shyly said--"tres bien" and his face lit up!! He went from "sign the CD and pass it down to Paul or Shannon" stock smile; a very polite and public smile --to a genuine grin of recognition and happiness. His face lit up!! I smiled back and tried to remember to breathe--god those boys are pretty-- but then his bandmate grabbed my liner notes and I was hustled along.
Saturday night was lovely and so was breakfast on Sunday. Pepper bacon in a buffet? Yeah, I like the RenCen. After an extra sleep in and delish breakfast we toddled back down to the riverfront full well knowing that it was gonna be NUTS, cuz BAYBEE
Barack was in da HOUSE!!! The above photo shows the screen onto which was projected his visage... and that dear friends was about all we could see. Couldn't hear a damn thing and we were only about...hmmm I'm gonna say 1/2 a block away. He was *IN* Hart Plaza proper, and we were mere feet away-- on the sidewalk by Zig's Mighty Fist--(I mean the Joe Louis memorial). We met some really cool people, but none of them were cool enough to have the "yellow ticket"--the "golden VIP pass". We saw Carl Levin and Blanchard walk by with THEIR yellow tickets--and watched city council people cruise on in--but alas...as important as we think we are--no VIP pass for us--or the 200,000 other General Admission types who waited in line for hours to watch TV.
humph--shoulda stayed at breakfast and watched the proceedings from the cafe TV--could have at least heard him! I had no idea what he even said till I read the Freep this morning! *sad panda*
I know I have a rep for cheesecake and that is all well and good, but I tweaked up the chutney I made for the trout. I may have a new signature dish because peeps were RAVING at Tishies--it ROCKED with the roast piggy. (Oh I finally got to eat a "cheek"--big whoop)
Daye's Chutney of Local Braggadocio
six over ripe michigan peaches (red haven)
six overripe brandywine toms.
1/2 c golden raisin (yes-- I dehydrated them!)
1 tblspoon of curry powder
1 tblspoon of ginger powder
1/2 cup dk. brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
Put all the non produce related ingredients in sauce pan. Dissolve and start to simmer.
Stem, seed, peel & dice the peaches & toms.
Add peaches & toms & raisins to "sauce" simmer for an hour --lo and slow baybee. I toyed with onions here. Maybe next time.
Serve as an accompaniment to something delicious like a hunk of pulled pork.
Well, considering that we were at two different bonfire parties it is entirely appropriate that Luna's howling in response to firetrucks was what finally woke my bleary butt up this morning. After crossing my fingers and hoping the subdivision was on fire (JOKING!) I stumble down to get some coffee. Oh my poor head--I am too old to stay up that late.
Great Lakes Beer and apple stuffed pig at Tishie and Steve's, where we played scrabble with a beautiful woman named Claudette and left Zoli (who was later attacked in the dark by a vicious rose bush.) behind to continue the tag in the dark game that kids everywhere resort to when their grownups sit around listening to music and drinking while poking a huge fire.
The fire at Steffie & Andre's was smaller but the music was live. And Izzy was only attacked by a misplaced marshmallow. Lo and behold--the kids at Andre's were playing the same running around in the dark like maniacs. It is nice to sit and chill with friends. Very pleasant. A beautiful evening.
It was late, but it was local--
Parsnip fries with ho-made ketchup.
Peach and tomato chutney (forgot to put in the basil!)
pan fried trout fillets.
delish.
Then for dessert Rollo&Carol brought mochi, but the sweetest thing we had was Obama speech!! YEAH BAYBEE!!
Great storage solution!! American Indians had no refrigerators!
Spaghetti Squash is a tough vegetable -- you can store a spaghetti squash in your home for several months, prior to using it. Because it can be stored for long periods of time, the natives of both North and South America used spaghetti squash as one of their dietary staples for many centuries.
">HOLY CRAP!!
The tomatos are in. I think StrongBad's head looks like a tomato. I picked so many tomatoes all I could keep saying was "HOLY CRAP!" It was like the Easter Egg hunt from hell. The Heirloom vines do not behave in a orderly fashion--they sprawl and creep and crash over their support system so I have this jungle of leaves and vines. You move one branch aside and there is another little clutch of testicle shaped plum tomatoes all nestled together. Sometimes one is a gold ivory color and I think I have found Gertrude's first egg--but not so much...just MORE DAMN TOMATOES!!
Made ketchup from the cherry toms, cold pack in recycled Bonne Maman jars--they are soo cute. Four lbs of fruit down to two pints--remove the water and all you have left is flavor. Amazing It was! Really kinda cool watching it thicken down. It was still quite juicy when Carol & Xanni were here but by 6:30 it was almost paste. SCIENCE!! I used a recipe from 1871 that had cinnamon in it!! Zoli approved whole heartedly.
Today is Spaghetti Sauce 2.5. Quart jars in the dish water and peeling and seeding to begin...NOW! (wish me luck)
The first batch of pasta sauce (NOT PESTO that is getting done too) was shallots & oregano (also from the garden). The first batch was more orange than RED so I have let these subsequent harvests hang as long as possible. (It helped going to NY for four days!) and today will be more of the same minus the shallots.
Back about a month ago Matthew was all excited about a goofy movie he had enjoyed called "Black Sheep." 
If nothing else it had New Zealand scenery so we added it to the ol' Netflix queue--well it was in the mailbox when we got home and last night we popped it in. The beginning drags, in fact I very nearly vetoed it as I was looking forward to watching Hillary at the DNC, but Zoli was so into the concept of zombie sheep that we hung on.
Oh dear, what a silly squishy mess!! Isabel, who can generally deal with "ewww" stuff pretty well, was not interested and blew it off completely. Pete was totally into it, of course he and Paul had had so much fun on You Tube "" popping zits that I wasn't surprised at his loud guffaws of disgust as we watched the grotesque blood and guts. This is the goriest movie I have ever seen. Never ending Intestines and clots--long strings of gore that seemed so WRONG!! we were laughing our asses off! Preparing Haggis has never been so beautifully filmed!! (NOT!) A slimy gooshy (startlingly good makeup) montage of blood and guts I have never seen.
But two things still bug me-- 1.) The satire and constant ribbing of crazy Greenie/PETA types kinda got on my nerves. At least I'm not a sheep farmer cuz then I would REALLY be offended! :)
and I couldn't help but be hypercritical (which I know is the wrong tactic to take with such a high caliber film) as I repeatedly noticed 2.) SHEEP DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF TEETH!!! They just aren't carnivores!!
BREAKFAST TABLE, early morning:
Z. (enters with bagel & juice)
I only have a week left.
MOM
No! it's still August! (defensively grabs at the planner and starts to count days--confidently turns the...one page.
-sighs sadly)
Oh...you're right. My bad.
I finally got a NEW book to read; we hit the AADL library last night.(Gotta get outta the Japanese cookbook rut I have been in.) Lately, I have been in kind of a HP review phase--re reading and listening to HBP and DH. My new buddy T. Pierce (whom I met in Chicago) suggested Holly Black's "Tithe" and it's accompanying series so I am looking at that again too but dude...I need a NEW book.
Looking at ten hours in the truck tomorrow...so when my email told me that the new book "Bottlemania" by Elizabeth Royte was ready for *ME* I hustled everybody's sorry asses into town. I also got two more tomes for me, The Voyage of the Short Serpent by Bernard du Boucheron (looks kinda Bernard Cornwell-ish but more...um...serious) and the third book I chose was The Temple of the Wild Geese & Bamboo Dolls of Echizen, looks like two novellas in a slim volume.
God I love books. There is something so visceral and so physical and so sensual, the smell of paper and ink, the heft and gravity of a well bound story. I like to hold books. I like wandering the stacks of a real library. I am home there. At the risk of boring you to tears dear ones, look at this quote from The Love of Books: the Philobiblon written by Richard de Bury (who is just a little older than my house!)
But the contemplation of truth is never more perfect than in books, where the act of imagination perpetuated by books does not suffer the operation of the intellect upon the truths that it has seen to suffer interruption. Wherefore books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight, and therefore Aristotle, the sun of philosophic truth, in considering the principles of choice, teaches that in itself to philosophize is more desirable than to be rich, although in certain cases, as where for instance one is in need of necessaries, it may be more desirable to be rich than to philosophize.
Moreover, since books are the aptest teachers, as the previous chapter assumes, it is fitting to bestow on them the honour and the affection that we owe to our teachers. In fine, since all men naturally desire to know, and since by means of books we can attain the knowledge of the ancients, which is to be desired beyond all riches, what man living according to nature would not feel the desire of books? And although we know that swine trample pearls under foot, the wise man will not therefore be deterred from gathering the pearls that lie before him. A library of wisdom, then, is more precious than all wealth, and all things that are desirable cannot be compared to it. Whoever therefore claims to be zealous of truth, of happiness, of wisdom or knowledge, aye, even of the faith, must needs become a lover of books.
Rembrandt depicts Bathsheba...I wonder if she "danced all night to this DJ" in new boots and now has big blisters on her heels?
