always looking forward to family vacation. :)
Saturday, November 15, 2003
an observation: today was a day for stuck.
my ignition - stuck. no amount of jiggling the steering wheel seemed to help, until i got out of the car, walked away, and came back. hrmph. undiagnosable or intermittent problems are my least favorite kind.
on other fronts, elbows lodged in furniture and spastic blinkers misbehaving. yep. all around, a day for stuck.
:: scribbled at
11:16 PM ...
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i suppose i should have taken better note of this, publically at least: The Dane and i have been together just around about a year now.
we exchanged cards and gifts this past Monday to observe the occasion, and he treated me to dinner out at Rangoli, my favorite Indian restaurant (and, now, his, i suspect).
one of his treats for me was my very own Hot Rod Devil Duckie, to go with my lovely blue Devil Duckie already resident on the shower shelf. i originally felt badly for little Hot Roddie, as one of his horns is... well, dented. or, more accurately, his head is dented and the horn follows suit. i attempted to reinflate the horn, which worked passably well as long as i kept a finger over the squeaker navel plunger thingie, and squashed the bejeesus out of Hot Roddie. but alas, it was only a temporary solution. discussion of 'mouth to duck' ensued, and eventually ruled out. Hot Roddie is now residing with Blue Duckie, and i've come to think his bent horn adds a charming bit of character. :)
:: scribbled at
5:16 PM ...
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Friday, November 14, 2003
sometimes, just the right song comes on the radio.
Oliver's army is here to stay,
Oliver's army are on their way,
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today,
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today,
And I would rather be anywhere else
But here today,
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ......
- Oliver's Army, Elvis Costello
few things like being screamed at in a professional setting to ruin the day.
:: scribbled at
4:14 PM ...
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the friday five:
1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.
personal
2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.
oh, i don't think so.
3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.
challenging, relaxing, sanity-saving
4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.
annoying, frustrating, loving, short on time.
5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.
rewarding, loving, peaceful, fun, exciting.
:: scribbled at
11:50 AM ...
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Wednesday, November 12, 2003
and in other news (altho it may only be news in my universe)...
jury duty dispensed with for another few years. spent all of Monday sitting in an air conditioned room (yes, in November), waiting to see what might happen. the court officer who managed things all day was there last time i was called; he still makes me laugh, as he's found a way to amuse himself by being a bit sarcastic but funny. hey, if i had to deliver the same rote speech every day, i think i'd do the same.
in a completely unentertaining note, i was very nearly late for jury duty, as my fucking neighbors still seem to find it necessary to make their parking problems my problem. grrrrr. one of these days, i'll just get them towed. see whose problem it is then. eh.
in a related note, managed to get a private traffic detail for the commute yesterday. this time, some genius parked a full two feet past the curb and across the end of my driveway. combine this with having to back out, a cement wall on one side of the driveway, a car parked along the other (legally, for once), and another car parked (legally) in a spot directly opposite the end of the driveway, and it all adds up to no freakin' way. my driving skillz are not that mad. so. call to the police, and polite inquiry as to might they help out? Mister Officer shows up, writes a ticket, and says i'm all set. eh? 'you can back out.' i laughed in his face. 'no, really. you want me to block traffic for you? and i'll direct you out.' well, seeing as how you have immense confidence in my driving skills, why not? The Dane ended up driving (rather than rejiggering the seat and mirrors - never keep a cop waiting, says i), and lo! Mister Officer was right! only with his kind help, tho, which was much appreciated. heh. not often that you get a private traffic detail, and for free, to boot. :)
and as this seems to have morphed into an entry on cars of various sorts, i should mention my absolute glee at having Penny back. i'm still happy to have been able to loan her to The Dane whilst his vehicle was being repaired (and quite spiffily, i might add - if you need a body shop recommendation, let me know). i'm even happier to have her, and mobility at my own discretion, back. yes, i did the Happy Dance. no, there is no evidence. ;)
i may drive around for hours tonight, just because i can.
:: scribbled at
7:11 PM ...
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a recipe for you: Chickpea Chicken without Chicken.
(soonish is a lovely fluid definition of time, isn't it? comes in handy for those of us who procrastinate. ;) )
(also, turns out you didn't have to wait that long; if i'd remembered to search on chickpeas instead of chick peas, i would have discovered that i wrote it up once before, along with some other random observations.)
(don't parenthetical observations get annoying after a while? not as bad as the misplaced comma, tho. )
anywhoooo...
Michael's Chickpeas and Chicken without the Chicken
3 onions, chopped
butter
2 cans chickpeas, drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
salt
rice
Sauté the onion in a stockpot in a generous amount of butter until softened. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato sauce and 2 T butter, and salt to taste. Simmer until slightly thickened. Meanwhile, prepare rice - either white or brown is fine. Serve chickpeas over rice.
it's a good, basic one pot recipe that reheats exceedingly well. and i'm still entertained by the recipe card. i'd copied it out from a cookbook that my dorm published one year, and Michael had said 'Serve very hot, with rice, if you're so inclined.' and then in the margin, he drew a little stick man, standing on one foot and leaning back. the caption - 'he's soooooo inclined.' heh. still makes me giggle, and has morphed into a visual joke between me and The Dane. he'd used the phrase 'if you're so inclined' one day, and i promptly imitated the stick man. :)
oh, wait - you want to know where the chicken is? but wasn't the stick man story worth it? no? well. i was vegetarian at the time, and never got around to sticking the chicken in the pot. i think if you just chopped up some chicken bits and sautéed it along with the onion, it would work out pretty well, don't you think? in any event, chicken or no, it's a good, simple, cold weather dish. enjoy!
:: scribbled at
5:54 PM ...
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Tuesday, November 11, 2003
sweet, stolen hours on a Sunday afternoon. that was the best part of the whole weekend.
seems as if it's been ages since The Dane and i have had any bit of time where there wasn't something to do. and we did have plans with my bro and his family for this weekend. it's been ages since i've seen them, as well, so i was disappointed that things fell thru. but the silver lining was this: hours on end with nothing pressing.
we climbed into bed, and dozed. we decided, on the spur of the moment, to go to brunch. we dined, quite well, at The Blue Room, somewhere i've wanted to take The Dane for a while now. (if you haven't tried their brunch, i highly recommend it. sinfully decadent.) we napped. and when it came time to get going for the evening, i found myself rather resentful that there weren't more unstructured hours.
the evening was worth the motivation, tho. an evening with Lyle Lovett is always an evening well spent. (i just discovered he lives in the house his grandparents built in 1911 - how very cool!) in addition to being a fantabulous musician, he's quite an accomplished raconteur, so it's just fun all around to see him perform. plus, i bumped into a friend i hadn't seen in ages (sensing a theme here?) at the show, and plan on catching up with him properly soon. he looks great, which was lovely to see, as he was rather beaten down by a rough patch last time we'd talked. it'll be good to talk with him and see what he's been up to lately.
oh, and the napping... so lovely. :)
:: scribbled at
5:05 PM ...
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Monday, November 10, 2003
just because it's Monday, a little something different.
Monday Madness:
1. How many 'meals a day' do you eat?i'm not the most regular of diners. breakfast is generally optional, altho i keep a supply of low fat breakfast bars at my desk, just in case. (weekends? breakfast? ha!) lunch... that's pretty consistent. some sort of soup, or sandwich, or pizza (i've gotten really hooked on a potato bacon pizza lately) - goes in cycles, tho, with the 'recent' favorite becoming the default for a week or three. dinner may be a regular sit down sort of thing, or i may just graze.
2. Do you enjoy cooking? Why or why not?i used to enjoy it a lot more, when it felt like i had enough time. i still enjoy making the occasional meal, soup to nuts, but more often i like finding recipes that are quick and utilitarian - main course in 20 minutes. i have an ever increasing respect for my mom, who put a hot meal on the table every night for many years.
3. Who cooks most of the meals in your home?the tongue in cheek answer would be 'well, since i live alone... that would be me.' mostly, when The Dane and i are together, we share things fairly equally. he's quite a good cook, too!
. . . . . and one more (optional) for good measure: 4. Share a favorite recipe with us.hm. i should dig up my Chick Pea Chicken recipe. will come back and post it soonish.
:: scribbled at
7:31 PM ...
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oooooookay. someone had *way* too much time on their hands, methinks.
what else could explain doo wop horses? (click on each one, once to toggle on, once to toggle off.)
i suppose i shouldn't really comment, tho, since i had enough time to try out various combinations of horses, should i? ;) (tips to b for that one)
:: scribbled at
5:40 PM ...
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Sunday, November 09, 2003
unconscious mutterings:
Leapfrog :: bushwhack
Co-workers :: impolite
Mustang :: Sally
Waffer :: Australian
Nicotine :: addiction
Fast food :: obesity
Suffocate :: pillowcase
Myth :: of fingerprints
Lane :: change
Unexpected :: jump
:: scribbled at
4:28 PM ...
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