Happy Thanksgiving! (The Food Post)

When it comes to Thanksgiving, I'm a pretty traditional girl.

I like to use hand-me-down dishes. These are Terri's mother's. They are so beautiful; we have a small set and I'd love to get a full set for Terri. They're Lenox Princess.

I like to make traditional food, even if it's updated. Here we have some lovely Brussels sprouts, which I never had as a kid, but I love now. This is the lovely 101Cookbook version. My brother gave me her cookbook and we've loved everything we've tried by her. (The pretty Thanksgiving table runner was made by my mom)

We always had homemade, from scratch, rolls for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like to do this too. We almost never have bread at home -- we just don't eat sandwiches or toast very often (except for the occasional cinnamon bread) -- so homemade bread is a treat. I made these pretty butter roll-ups. They were soooo good.

We used Terri's grandmother's dishes for the serving. Terri made the stuffing and mashed potatoes. The gravy is a yummy vegetarian gravy I've modified a few times.

A special salad and some vegan chickpea cutlets (which didn't photograph well, although you can see them, little brown patties, here) round out the meal.

Of course for dessert we have two kinds of pie, a sour-cream apple pie and a banana-cream-without-bananas pie (Terri doesn't like the texture of bananas, so I just used banana flavoring, but the rest of the filling is 'real'). I happened to have some frozen pie crust (I don't know why, usually I'm a make-from-scratch kind of gal) so I just took the easy way out and used those.

I was a bit off my game today. A little tired and having those once-monthly issues, not thinking very straight. The cream pie turned out a little lumpy and didn't set quite as well as it should, and I nearly burned a couple of things because I wasn't paying attention. Still, it all turned out pretty well. The full menu:

Homemade rolls

Brussels sprouts

Salad (romaine with broccoli, a crunchy topping, sweet-and-sour dressing)

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Stuffing

Chickpea cutlets

Sparkling water

Pie for dessert

Although I felt a little wobbly all day, it was a really good day. Last year was not so good (although it was fun to have my mom here). The year before that was also not good, although I certainly didn't mention it in my post. So this year, the fact that we are nicely settled and happy in our home, and not going anywhere, and we have the rest of the weekend off, is really really nice. We have a lot to be thankful for, and we are. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Day 2 of Thanksgiving

Almost missed my next-to-last day!

I'm feeling very thankful tonight. Here are 10 things which I can honestly say I am very thankful for tonight:

1. That we successfully returned all the electronic bits and pieces which didn't work out, with no hassle. And that we solved the TV problem!

2. That my kitties are here with us and all furry and adorable. They make every single day better. I seriously adore these girls.

3. That I have the next 5 days off.

4. That I actually feel enthusiastic about Thanksgiving and making some yummy things tomorrow. It seems like a fun day, rather than a chore. Also, the fact that there will be two pies is making me very happy.

5. That I am wearing flannel pajamas.

6. That I have super-fun crafty-bakey-movie plans for Sunday with my friend Lara.

7. That I found the Best Sweatshirt Ever on super-duper-cheap sale tonight. Score!

8. That I can afford said sweatshirt. Seriously, I am so grateful that I have a job and we have been so good with money this year. Money stuff has been so low-stress this year because we have really worked hard at it -- what a freaking relief! On that note, I have enough -- but not too much -- petsitting this weekend. Just enough for cuteness, not enough for frustration and tiredness. I love those critters I check in on.

9. That my current book, Fingersmith, does not suck. In fact, it is the polar opposite of sucking. It totally rocks and I cant' wait to read it this weekend. Also, I have three magazines and a new London Review of Books. I can't wait for this whole weekend.

10. Last but never least, I am so thankful for my sweetie Terri, who was able to go out and return stuff with me tonight and have some fun. She is the best, best, best girl ever.

I'll report in about food tomorrow!

Day 3 of Thanksgiving

Prewriting today's thanks-giving and completely out of time and inspiration, but I will tell you what I am NOT thankful for (and maybe that's why it's giving us such trouble): consumer electronics. I have had it up to here with the damn pieces of crap.

We have been trying for days to figure out some way to set up headphones to our new TV (which is a total indulgence and which we are SO thankful for! we had some help buying it and it was the best present for Terri EVER since she is stuck in the bedroom so often).

People: if you have to buy a new TV, and you like to use headphones, BE SURE IT HAS A HEADPHONE JACK. Because otherwise you will be doomed to trying every conceivable way to hook headphones, or small external speakers, or some combination thereof, and FAILING MISERABLY BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. It is not possible. It's so impossible that we are considering returning this TV and getting a different one with a headphone jack, because there is no converter currently made to solve this problem, and I am seriously out of patience with this issue. Packing up and returning a TV is such a hassle that that alone tells you how frustrated we are, that we are even considering taking such extreme measures.

We need headphones because our house has no insulation. It's freezing, and sound carries. So we'd like to be considerate neighbors when we're cuddled in bed against the freezing, trying to watch Buffy slay some vamps, and not wanting to blast our neighbors out of bed.

Again, this is a problem of abundance and not of lack, but in this case, "lack" is sounding better and better.

Currently we have to return items to Sears, RadioShack and BestBuy, all of which were promised to work and none of which did.

So I'm not very thankful for modern consumer electronics, but I AM thankful for liberal return policies. Is that good enough for a thankfulness post?

Day 4 of Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for days of relaxation.

The weekend has been relaxing but busy. We've been trying to set up the TV in the bedroom so that we can both have headphones on so as not to disturb the downstairs neighbors. Very considerate of us, don't you think? Anyway, the makers of electronics do not want you to be quiet and considerate. They make it very, very difficult to do any of this sort of "how to make my TV unobtrusive" stuff. So I am out of patience with it and am taking the day off from puzzling over it. Terri has taken over management of most of it but it's still a puzzle. It should not be this hard. Geez.

So instead, today I am relaxing. And grocery shopping (but I will do it in a relaxed way, before the lunchtime rush). I am not doing any of the projects on my list (unless something sounds fun). I *might* go to the hardware store, but that's actually sort of a fun, laid-back errand, so that doesn't count.

I will read my book (Fingersmith, which is excellent thank goodness) and eat a few cookies and enjoy the fact that all my weather-proofing efforts seem to have made a difference after all. I figured out that if I turn on the heat full blast for about 20-30 minutes, I can then turn it down to low and the room, newly insulated with that plastic window sheeting, will retain the heat reasonably well. This makes me happy. No scarves or hats yesterday. I got a taste of what Terri goes through every day and I did not enjoy it, so hopefully this will fix things a little bit. Chilly and thick socks and sweaters is okay. Cold, as in camping-in-winter-cold, fingers-freezing cold, is not okay.

I'm tired and I'm looking forward to a few days off this week. I haven't gotten sick this year yet (thank God!!!) but I'm a little run-down and PMS so I think having some time to rest will be good. I'll be doing quite a bit of petsitting but not crazy-busy, so that's good.

So that's my thankfulness for today. Time to rest and regroup and recoup and enjoy the fruits of labor (or ignore the labor waiting for me, whichever the case may be...)

Day 5 of Thanksgiving

Made garlic rolls and cinnamon bread, both from the Amish White Bread recipe suggested by Barefoot Mommy. Sure was grateful for the abundance of time, money, and know-how needed to create such yummy things. (no, they didn't take much time nor money nor know-how, but I've been thinking lately just how lucky I really am)

Today I am grateful for the good things in my life I might take for granted:

* free books from the library

* enough money to feed ourselves

* a nice apartment (even though it's freezing)

* a car that works well (and one that is limping along)

* two adorable senior kitties

* my adorable and wonderful partner

* a great job and a great boss (and friend)

And so much else.

Yesterday was a good day, but it seems I'm moving into PMS-land and so it ended on a grumpy note. I got overwhelmed by technical details while trying to hook up wireless headphones so we can watch TV in the bedroom without disturbing our neighbors. I also managed to lift too many heavy things yesterday, and so I was tired. We lost the movie we were going to watch (after setting up the headphones)... and so on. And then, to top it all off, my book was stupid.

Still, it was a grumpiness brought on by abundance and not lack, and that is something to be thankful for.

Today I'm going to go for a walk with my new neighborhood walking buddy, and then possibly go to church. And then I'm going to fix the technical problems and return library books and start Fingersmith. I'm having trouble with books lately. I have started and stopped Howard's End, Moonlight and Vines (short stories by de Lint) and Dinner with Anna Karenina (the book that turned out to be stupid). After Fingersmith I'm going to read (and finish) Anna K. These two I know are pretty much guaranteed to be good, so maybe that will pull me out of my reading slump.

Anyway. Today, I am thankful for all the abundance in my life, for all the little things which help make things go well, for the fact that (Terri's health excepted) we have all the basics covered, plus some nice extras.

And now it's time to suit up and go for a walk and try to shake this grumpy mood.

Day 6 of Thanksgiving

Call me silly, but today I am grateful for hot water bottles.

(isn't it cute? Looks like it's tucked into a sleeping bag)

Our apartment is in one of those delightful old-fashioned Bay Area 4-plexs, full of charm and grace and absolutely no insulation whatsoever. It might be 60 outside but it feels like 50 inside. a

Actually, I just checked: it's 54 degrees in here right now. During the day, we can go outside to warm up. So even though it may be frustratingly balmy outside, inside we are freezing. The heat is incredibly inefficient (and uneffective) so basically it's just freezing all the time.

I came home yesterday and found Terri like this: hat, scarf, fleece-lined flannel shirt, sweats, two pairs of wool socks. My little bundled-up babushka, poor thing. She has terrible circulation because of the CFS, plus she is stuck at home all day, so she really suffers.

So, in order to combat the chill, I've been busy preparing for winter, which is silly since we live here and my disdain for our barely-winter is well-documented. Still, it's dang cold inside our house and Terri needs to be warm, so I keep trying.

I spent last weekend sewing: I made some birdseed-filled microwavable neck warmers, and I also made cozies for the hot water bottles. There is nothing like getting into a freshly-made bed which has been warmed by very hot water bottles. Except for the part where they are so hot that they burn you. Hence, the thick fleece cozies. These are amazing. I am completely, head-over-heels in love with these now.

We have those microfleece sheets on the bed, plus warm jammies, plus fleece-wrapped hot water bottles. It's heaven, absolute heaven. They stay warm all night, too. If you have a cold bed, I recommend, without reservation, a hot water bottle (preferably wrapped in jaunty holiday plaid fleece). I only wish I'd had one of these when I was a kid, growing up in another delightful old house with no insulation, only in Oregon where it really WAS cold!

Day 7 of Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for tea. I drink tea nearly every day. Now, don't get your feathers in a fluff, coffee-lovers, I love coffee too (very much!) but my tummy can't handle it every day so I save it for weekends (my favorite coffee is the New Orleans style chicory coffee. I also like fancy-pants local coffeehouse coffee, but I don't do that very often.)

But tea I can handle every day, and can usually handle a cup in the afternoon too. I like all kinds: black, green, red, herbal, oolong, bagged, loose, Chinese, Japanese, Lipton... I'll drink any of it.

Currently at home we have the following:

1 box Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Strawberry Rose (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Almond Sunset (bagged)

1 box Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Hazelnut (bagged)

1 tin Peet's (decaf) English Breakfast (loose)

1 tin Peet's Irish Breakfast (loose)

1 tin Peet's Holiday Blend (loose)

2 tins Republic of Tea Queen of Hearts Rose (loose)

1 tin Republic of Tea Cardamom Cinnamon (loose)

3 tins Peet's Jasmine Green Tea (loose)

I think that's it. I probably missed one. Oh wait, I did. Also:

1 box PG Tips (bagged)

This does not include the tea I have at work, which includes:

1 box Twinings Four Red Fruits

1 box Tazo Awake

(and a few boxes of Almond Sunset and Four Red Fruits, since I ordered from Amazon so you get six at once)

Terri is even more of a tea-drinker than I am, but she drinks Peet's Jasmine Green Tea almost exclusively. I like a variety (um, clearly).

A few notes about my favorites:

Twinings Four Red Fruits: My exchange-student best friend D'Arcy and I discovered this tea in Finland, and fell in love with it. It is perfect -- light, sweet, interesting, yummy plain or with sugar and milk. It remains my comfort tea. If I am having a bad day, a nice cup of Four Red Fruits with a bit of sweetener helps me get back into a peaceful frame of mind. It's delicious. It's kind of hard to find, but worth the search.

Republic of Tea Queen of Hearts: This is a lovely loose black tea, filled with actual dried rosebuds and leaves, so it's really pretty. It's wonderfully scented with rose and makes a very amazing cup of tea, especially in a teapot. They only come out with it in February so I usually get a tin or two at that time because it's really special. Actually, Terri knows it's a favorite so she usually gets one for me. Thank you, sweetie!

Republic of Tea Cardamom and Cinnamon: There is actually a funny story with this one. Last year, on this really really bad day, I went out in a huff and ended up at this fancy-foods grocery store and bought this tea on a whim, and a loaf of fresh olive bread. The bread was amazing, but the tea has brought me much joy. It's the perfect chai, spicy and full-flavored and perfect for the holidays. As with all Republic of Teas, it's also pricey so this one tin has lasted me all year... but it's almost time to get another one!

Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic: I have a bit of a tricky tummy, and sometimes you just need a cup of mint tea to soothe everything. This is my favorite mint tea. I especially love the packaging (which is why I buy most Celestial Seasoning teas -- the packaging. I love their boxes! Can I come work for you, please?)

PG Tips: This is Mr. Workaday Black Tea. It's not terribly expensive and it makes a really nice cup of plain tea, and it has cool pyramid teabags. I also like the box for some reason. It has a nice little lid that makes me happy.

Another favorite which I don't currently have (you can only have so much tea, and I think I've reached our household limit) is Peet's Russian Caravan: Peet's is a local coffee and tea chain, and they make AMAZING coffee and tea. It's the only brand of tea Terri drinks, because it's so lovely and just a nice everyday luxury. I love this Russian Caravan -- it's dark and smoky and super-duper cozy. It's the perfect curl-up-and-read tea. I might have to use up one of my other teas and get a tin for the holiday season.

You know what's funny is that when we moved, I threw out so many boxes and bags of old tea and resolved to only have maybe two or three varieties of tea at any one time. Because how much tea do you really need, right? So... didn't do too well on that resolution, did I? Oh well. Tea is a small indulgence and has disproportionatly delightful payoff, so I feel okay about it. Although seeing the entire list is a bit sobering.

(yes, we have an entire drawer devoted to tea)

(and a little bit of shelf space too)

...

...

(um, and some countertop space, too.)

Day 8 of Thanksgiving (in which I need your help!)

Today I am thankful for literature. And, for affordable community college classes.

I'm trying to decide which class to take in January. Help me choose! Do I go for:

Early Literature, up through Milton: Chaucer, Milton, etc. Interesting, but perhaps a little too arcane to really get me excited for the first lit class I've taken in over 12 years.

Late 17th-mid 19th century: Pope, Blake, Wordsworth, Brontes, Dickens, Austen, Whitman, selected others. I'm tempted by this one because I love this era. What is not to love about this lineup? Hello?!? Dickens and Austen and the Brontes?

Mid 19th-20th Century: Wilde, Shaw, James, Woolf, Joyce, Faulkner, Eliot, Hurston, selected others. Also tempting for the strong writing, and I've always meant to read Faulkner (and I love T.S. Eliot). Fascinating authors and really engrossing books...

Thoughts? It's just an undergrad class so I'm hoping to completely enjoy myself. I'd like to do some good writing so I have something to show, should I apply for the MA in the fall. I'm thinking perhaps I should go for the Bronte-Dickens-Austen-Whitman uber-tempting lineup. That sounds like a complete indulgence: reading these books as HOMEWORK. "Sorry, can't do dishes, I HAVE TO READ WUTHERING HEIGHTS."

Bonus: will have to purchase these books for notations, right? Right. Perfect excuse to break my ban on book-buying. :)

Day 9 of Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for skills. In particular, these skills which have been very handy recently:

* baking (garlic rolls, cinnamon bread)

* sewing (photos to come soon!)

* making up a (successful) recipe (mmm, soup)

* a rudimentary knowledge of tools and mechanics

* driving in the rain

* navigation when lost in unfamiliar city

These are the sorts of things that make everyday life so much easier. They make up for the fact that I am terrible at:

* balancing checkbooks (which is not to say I'm bad with money, I'm just bad at the checkbook thing)

* keeping track of paperwork

* filing

* lefts and rights (no, no, your OTHER right!)

* making scrambled eggs (it's true!)

* making small talk (I totally suck at this)

* putting away my shoes

I have about four pairs of shoes all over the house. My shoes are also in a jumble at the bottom of my closet (to be fair, they are also neatly placed in a shoe rack on my closet door, but I don't have any room for shoe racks on the floor... so, jumble of overflow shoes).

However, I can step over those shoes and make a mean loaf of cinnamon bread, and that is something to be thankful for indeed.

This. Is. So. Awesome. (Day 10 of Thankfulness)

I am thankful for the awesomeness that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We've been rewatching the entire series and I love it even more the second time around. What an amazing show. Campy, funny, intelligent, sensitive, and with a pretty bad-ass heroine (who can rock the leather pants and not mess up her lip gloss, to boot). I heart Buffy.

I'm also thankful for the polar opposite: the Twilight series (books and movies). Arguably even more campy, retro, and an over-the-top silly romance, it's anti-feminist and eye-rollingly teen-y, and yet I love it so much. Oh Edward, you make being a self-empowered feminist who can be trusted with a kitchen knife seem SO last century.

However, I LOVED this even more. So. Freaking. Awesome. Do you see why Buffy is the best? Sorry, Edward. You gotta admit, the girl has a point.

Book: Sandman (#4, The Season of Mists)

The whole Sandman thing really came together for me with this collection. I was completely absorbed and really into the story, very involved with the characters and the storyline. I read it straight through in an hour or two while babysitting the other night (and attempting to hide the sometimes-disturbing illustrations from curious 6-year-old).

In this issue, Dream has to go back to Hell to free a woman he treated badly and unfairly damned her to Hell for an eternity. While in Hell, things do not go as he expects... and he ends up with the keys to Hell. Of course he doesn't want them; but who should they go to? Everyone has a reason why they need the keys, but it's up to Dream to figure out the best answer.

I'm not sure why this issue caught me just right, but I really loved it. I liked the illustrations better for some reason, and I loved the bits about Dream and his family (especially Death -- who doesn't love Death?). I felt entirely caught up in it and absolutely in Gaiman's hands and world. I dreamed Gaiman-like dreams all night after reading it.

Not much else to say except that if you are reading this series, I would love to know what you thought about this collection, #4. If you are just starting out, read until you get to this issue! It all starts to make sense and the world starts to coalesce into something pretty amazing.

As ever, Neil Gaiman, you are my hero.

The 12 (er, 11) Days of Thanksgiving

I wish I'd thought of this yesterday when there were 12 days to go until Thanksgiving, but I didn't, so let's just pretend I did, okay?

I was thinking this morning about how glad I was that it's this year, and not last year. Exactly one year ago today, we were stressing out over whether or not we'd gotten this apartment. We were faced with the task of getting rid of half our belongings, scrubbing down every inch of everything that was left, and moving it all, in the midst of the holidays, over to Oakland. It was not a very fun time. It took me a good two months to recover any sort of good mood after that whole debacle. It was horrible.

So this morning, I'm sitting on the sunny porch, drinking coffee, lazily looking through a magazine, enjoying the sun (yes, although I wish it were actually winter here, it is nice to have warm sun in the mornings), and feeling profoundly grateful that it's this year and not last year. So I think in honor of our good fortune, I will present the 12 (11) Days of Thanksgiving.

Starting with today: I am thankful for our back porch. This photo was taken about 20 minutes ago. It's absolutely gorgeous out there this morning. The birds were chirping, the church bells were ringing... lovely.

One of the cool things about living in the Bay Area is that you can have flowers all year 'round. My mom and I planted these pansies in my hanging flower pots when she was here last week. They are so cheerful; I love pansies and haven't ever lived anywhere that had a sunny place for them. So I love coming out and seeing these guys on a nice morning.

And Cleo The Cat loves the porch too. She likes to take a nice bath in the sun, and eat the various leaves of things growing in pots (she has kitty grass too), and watch alertly for birds, spiders and any little bugs that might venture onto the porch.

I haven't had a porch the entire time I've lived in the Bay Area (over 11 years now) -- just a tiny patch of yard for about six months when I had my mouse house, which wasn't private and was kind of shady and cold -- so I really enjoy having a little bit of outdoor space, especially this one with such a pretty view of the city and treetops, and so sunny and cheerful and cat-friendly.

It beats a moldy, falling-down apartment any day, I can tell you that for sure.

A Rambly Food Post

(an old photo, but reminds me that I think I'll make this recipe tonight)

I'll eat just about anything (not including meat). I like almost every vegetable (although I have reservations about green peppers, okra, and sometimes eggplant. Not so much into the slime texture). I like strange desserts (actually just about any dessert, except frosting. I'm not a fan of frosting). I'm an adventurous cheese eater. I like rye. I like sauerkraut. I like pickled and fermented things. I enjoy miso. I have no problem with mushrooms. You get the picture.

I waffle back and forth between eating widely and moderately, or following some sort of 'healthy' (usually some degree of extreme) diet plan. I used to think that that meant I was inconsistent (which I guess it does, actually) but now I realize that I actually enjoy periods of enforced dietary strictness. I enjoy the ease of only being able to choose this or that, instead of the wide variety of whatever I want. But then, I get tired of that, and I go back to my usual ways. My usual ways aren't bad -- I eat a wide variety of whatever I want, in moderation (usually).

Which brings me to the upcoming holiday season. I have a number of thoughts. Here are a few:

• I am really trying to cut down the use of flour and sugar in our house. Not because it's terribly bad per se (although the point could be argued), but because Terri really shouldn't be eating it and frankly it's not that great for me either. But I do not like being "good" all the time, it makes me cranky. So what to do? The answer, my friends, is cheese. Unfortunately Terri doesn't like cheese, so I'm not sure what her vice will be, but I enjoy cheese in all its forms, so I foresee an abundance of cheesy goodness coming up in my future.
• First up will be the pumpkin bake I mentioned in the last post. This is pretty decadent. It's basically a pumpkin filled with dry bread, cheese, and cream, and then baked. It's super-yummy. I am going to get a small single-serving size sugar pie pumpkin and make one for myself.
  
• I think there will also be some gratins. I am intrigued by this one, found on Smitten Kitchen. I like sweet potatoes, I like chard, and I like cheese. So chances are, I will like this. I also really like homemade scalloped potatoes, so I think I'll make some of those as well at some point.
  
• I also really like soup. I have a thing about soup. Terri hasn't been into soup lately but it's awfully handy for work lunches, so I think I'll make some on Mondays for the week ahead. That also solves the problem of trying take into account two people's opinions about soup: if it's just for my lunch, I can make whatever I want. See? It's really just all about me.
• I also want to get back into making Indian food. I made a couple of curries during our vacation and they were really yummy, but I had to return the library book (660 Curries, which was really a good cookbook). I don't feel like buying a big cookbook right now and I haven't found a good Indian recipe site, so... I guess I'll check out the book again and maybe make some copies of recipes I want to try.
• And finally, some thoughts on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I think it's just us for Thanksgiving this year. (We will be having some friends over for Christmas) Neither of us likes turkey enough to make one (we are mostly vegetarian, with a few turkey sandwiches here and there). We don't eat pork or beef or fish. Contrary to all my food talk above, neither of us have enormous appetites, either. So what do two mostly-vegetarian women do for holiday dinner? I'm searching for an entree that is special and yummy enough that we'll actually want to eat it (as opposed things like stuffed squashes or tofurkeys, no thanks). I'm thinking of making a small batch of homemade rolls, because, well, yum. We like mashed potatoes. There's a special salad we like, too. So that's all good. But it's missing something. Hmm. Thoughts?

Also, a side note. Recently for some reason I have seen lots of recipes for lamb. This always stops me in my tracks because somehow, in my brain, I cannot believe anyone (these nice people who have such nice websites!) would actually eat lamb (or veal, which I think is horrible, horrible, horrible). Have you seen lambs? They are freaking adorable. I literally cannot imagine eating a lamb. Shudder. I won't go on about meat because I am actually very down-to-earth about it (sustainable, humane ranching is understandable; mainstream factory farming is horrific), but I draw the line at lamb or veal. Unthinkable.

Back to the vegetable talk. We will be eating lots of vegetables, punctuated with some dashes of cheese here and there, throughout the upcoming season. I will miss baking, but hopefully the presence of yummy other things will help. I actually love this time of year for cooking, and I love winter veggies, so I'm excited.

However, I reserve the right to make some gingerbread men, a coffeecake, and perhaps some sugar cookies. See aforementioned comment about being too good making me grumpy.

Winter Thoughts

They say it's winter but I don't believe it (she says, looking suspiciously out the window at the bright sunny day, and at the temperature, which stubbornly stays in the high 60s). I could use a good couple of weeks of rain. This time of year I miss Oregon so much. I get so tired of the sun. I miss the forests and the rain and the chill and the gloom.

These adorable photos by my brother, of a recent mushrooming trip he took with my dad, don't help much:

I love this one; Dad's hat looks like a gnome cap as he goes through the woods...

Instead of mushrooming, I'm trying to come up with some winter activities to help console Northwestern heart languishing here in sunny CA (surrounded, it must be added, by the love of my most wonderful partner, who makes it completely worthwhile, although a rainstorm sure does help).

Since I have this goal of having an art show next fall, I've got to finish my painting. One a month will do it. I'm slightly behind. So there's one activity.

I'm trying not to bake since Terri shouldn't be eating sugar (and frankly, I don't need it either) but boy, that is difficult for me, especially this time of year. I'm thinking of, instead, switching to delicious vegetable gratins and such. Cheese instead of sugar. It's not really an even trade, but I need some sort of vice! I may have to start with Ruth Reichl's cheesy pumpkin bake. Mmm.

What else can you do when you can't control the weather? Well, our house is f-f-f-f-freezing, so I'm enjoying wearing my slippers and warm pjs. At least it gets dark early so I am stocking up on good books to read. I feel another Charles de Lint phase coming on...

I read in the London Review Of Books about a biography of John Cheever... I haven't ever read any Cheever, but this essay makes him sound fascinating, in a grumpy, closeted-gay-man, suburban-utopia (which is really miserable) sort of way. Actually, maybe it was just a really good essay. He sounds like a grump, and his books sound rather bleak, so maybe I'll pass and just enjoy the essay.

I think I'm going to try to write more about everything I read, not just the books. I'm also going to do more cooking and art posts, and less blah-blah-blah posts. I say that now (she says, finishing up what could be classified as distinctly blah-blah-blah...). I am completely boring myself to death so something's got to change around here.

Book: Angel of Darkness (de Lint/Key) (in which I peter out and start talking about other things)

Charles de Lint doesn't shy away from darkness in his books, but he's not usually known for the really dark stuff. Apparently he felt he had some scary icky darkness to express, but didn't want his usual readers to be surprised by a really dark book, so he wrote three under the name Samuel Key. Then... I guess his publishers decided de Lint's usual readers could handle it so they rereleased it under his real name.

Anyway, this is either the first, or all three (?) books. I couldn't quite tell if it was the three in one, or just the one. It doesn't really matter, I didn't really love the book so I wouldn't be reading the next two anyway. I usually ADORE de Lint so I was disappointed.

Ahhh.... well, I'm totally uninspired. To tell you the truth, I really didn't love this book. It started off fairly disturbing and gross, and never really went anywhere. I'm used to de Lint books being wonderful and magical and thoughtful and deep and loving and hard and complex. This was fairly straightforward, a bit confusing, not very compelling, and I didn't love any of the characters (and my favorite one died!!).

Thankfully, it was short. I wanted it to get better, but it didn't. That's about all I have to say about that.

***
In other book news, I have recently started getting the London Review of Books (gift from Terri's sister!), which I'm really excited about. Both because it is, in itself, a wonderful source of reading material (giant, long, thoughtful intelligent essays about books) and also hopefully an inspiring source of new books to read as well. Although I really kind of want to get Publishers Weekly as well. When I worked in publishing, I read it every week and it was really great for learning about new books. I miss it. It's also better for browsing. The LROB is very browse-resistant. It requires sitting down with a cup of tea and the intent to do some serious reading. Not usually a problem for me, but a bit difficult when you're tired and ready for bed and just want to do a little book-looking.

Also in literary news, I think I'm going to register for a lit class for January. Just something fun and interesting, to get some writing samples and see how I like taking literature classes. I took a couple in college of course but didn't have time to take more than two or three, and any papers I wrote are either long gone or in a stack in my dad's attic, where I will probably never locate them.

So that's fun. And now... it's November. Which means I promised myself to read Anna Karenina in November. But the problem is, I have Howard's End which sounds good, and I really feel like reading something else instead of Anna (which doesn't make sense, since I love what little I've read of it so far). I think the problem is that it's still too darn sunny here. Not at all the right type of weather for a big fat Russian novel. Plus I am feeling rather scattered lately and I really think I need more lighthearted books, not something big and weighty. I really want to go to the library and get a big stack of "fun" books.

Maybe I will. So there.

Anyway. I'm back in the blogging world (for now) and am noticing that I'm awfully tired of my usual posts. So I'm going to try to do some different things. More photos and different topics. Maybe. If I can get inspired.

Mostly I just want to get in bed with a big stack of books, a big stack of cookies and a big rainstorm outside and read for a week. Alas, nothing but sun for the foreseeable future. Darn you, California, with your boring predictable weather...

It Runs In The Family

Mom and I went thrifting today. Um, wow. So we went to Salvation Army, which was having a 50% off sale. Here is Mom's haul (please note everything is in great shape/quality):

1 set of mismatched but coordinating king size sheets

1 tablecloth

1 king size comforter

4 cardigans

6 pullover sweater/tops

1 Pendleton wool sweater vest

1 pair jeans

1 decorative plate

Grand total: $38.

Hello!!

I got one tablecloth and a Christmas tree skirt, grand total $7.

We had fun.

Out For A Few Days

My mom is coming to visit for a few days. Yay!!

I will be taking a few days off from blogging unless I get inspired.

We're going to go thrifting, visiting, eat some yummy food, watch some fluffy movies, have some girl time. I'm really looking forward to some good mommy time, relaxing and having fun.

So, until then... we'll be snuggling with my mom and eating chocolate.

This Explains A Lot

After a frustrating day inside my head (and listening to NPR), I took one of those online quizzes determining which political party my beliefs put me into:

100% Green

90% Democrat

75% Anarchist

Well, that explains a lot.

I actually feel much better now.