| Back and all is well |
[Jul. 4th, 2009|09:36 am] |
Just jet-lagged.
Jet-lagged, I sit
Listening to cluttered void
Inside my headHave some ghost comb while you wait...
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|11:26 pm] |
Thought some of you would like to read this. Daniel Radcliffe said this in the Guardian about lovely Alan.
Alan Rickman, Severus Snape in the Potter films, was a big help on Broadway. He cut short a holiday in Connecticut to visit Radcliffe and give him some pointers on stage presentation "that absolutely saw me through the last six weeks of the run" - how to be still, exploiting his "quite short and compact frame". Radcliffe says he used to "struggle" with Rickman: "I never used to know when he was joking or not. I think I took a lot of his sarcasm seriously. But recently I've woken up to it and he's actually a great guy.
And about Tom Felton. Nicest thing he's ever said about him.
He proceeds to tell me the people he "absolutely loves" on set: Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger. "They are, to all intents and purposes, my brother and sister." Are they all best friends? "Probably not, only because we don't see each other out of filming. But someone like Tom Felton, who plays Malfoy, I'd count among my really good friends. I went to the cricket with him on Sunday."
This is probably the most intelligent interview I've ever read of his. I learned so much, one being, that this man is way more intelligent than I will ever hope to be.
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| The creme brulee' cost how much?! |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|09:43 am] |
Why does creme brulee' cost as much as cheesecake in a restaurant? Don't tell me it is labor-intensive or the ingredients cost more. I've made both several times -- and it ain't and they don't.
Creme brulee simply looks hard. All it is is milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla baked in a pan of water -- and you can make mass quanities at once. When ready to serve, sprinkle with sugar and set under the broiler for 30 seconds. Done. Boom.
That is not nearly as expensive or difficult as a cheesecake. Just purchasing the mountain of cream cheese and sour cream you need puts you well over the national debt. Add in all the exotic favorings, additions and toppings and you've got enough cash invested to bail out GM. Then you've got to wrestle with the spring-form pan, cut it into neat slices, and decorate each individual plate. Talk about labor-intensive.
Yet, for some reason, when you order both at a restaurant they are considered equal on the bill.
Last night as we celebrated the birthdays of our sons at a fancy restaurant, we all ordered a variety of cheesecakes and creme crulee'.
When the cheesecakes arrrived, they were towering artistic creations of astronomical proportions. The citrus cheesecake was a glorious recreation rivaling an Aztec temple in its hay day. At least five inches tall, the cake sat on swirls of glistening raspberry puree' and chocolate shavings, spirals of candied orange peel exploding from the top like a sun burst. The chocolate version was stacked round layers towering on a plate of spiraled, golden caramel. Drizzles of warm fudge sauce trickled down the sides of the four-inch-tall cake. And on top of this heavenly monument to the gods was a mound of chocolate chips dipped in gold dust that sparkled in the candlelight.
The creme brulee'?
The white ramekins (bowls) were exactly three inches wide and one inch deep. Exactly. I measured them with a tiny measuring tape kept in my purse. The creme brulee filled the bowl a bit more than halfway to the top - making the estimated serving size about 1/4 cup. There was no fresh fruit, no toppings, no whipped cream...not even a pretty but useless sprig of mint. The white ramekin was sitting on a white napkin, on top of a white saucer. Done. Boom.
And when the bill arrived, each dessert cost $6.50.
Next time, I'm ordering the cheesecake.
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| rough and crazy day. |
[Jul. 2nd, 2009|09:59 pm] |
I took a day off work, meaning to do the pre pregnancy checks and it went that way.
we woke up pretty late - or what normal people calls waking up normally and went to the family doctor - who sent me to do some extra checks ( in addition to those above) and since I didn't want to be needled twice, I suggested making it with those above.
then we rode to the hospital did all what was needed to do those checks -we didn't do the extra checks.
after those - we agreed that a good breakfast is needed - I ordered a mouseli , and while eating it, realized that I'm biting something that shouldn't be there, turned out that one of my tooth filling fell off.
not nice.
since it was already day off, and since it was the second time this filling fell of and this was a wisdom teeth.... I expected the worst. so I finished my mouseli, and went to see the dentist.
then I realized that Murphy was right - not only she had battled my teeth for a hour and a half ( and thankfully avoided turning this all mess into a chirogical extraction ) when she finally managed to pull that thing out ( calling happily : " it's a boy!" ) the filling in the next tooth fell off as well.
the tooth was caught in time, but the filling didn't, so, after my mouth had been the battlefield for the last hour, I had to stand up and take some good breathing - to make sure that I swallowed the filling and didn't breath it.
I probably swallowed it : I can still breath.
we went out off the dentist and decided that bus would be too much for me : we took a cab home.
in the middle of the way, the cab driver realized that one of his tires went flat....
we manged to get home ( bus ) I went into bed.
this morning I woke up and looked like a vampire after healthy meal : pale with some blood on my face.
but I feel better now. |
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| I Love New York |
[Jul. 2nd, 2009|06:50 pm] |
The more I visit here, the more I love this city.
What I love are the 'real' New Yorkers.
I love the lady eating blueberries out of a tub while she walks to work in the morning.
I love the guy smoking a cigarello and studying a Bach Aria as he crosses the crosswalk at the TKTS booth in the middle of Times Square.
I love the people in their bathing suits and shorts and lawn croquet attire enjoying Central Park on a gorgeous Saturday morning.
I love the Spanish guitar playing serenaders that one runs into from time to time on the subway.
I love the people walking their dogs everywhere - little yorkies and shitzus and weiner dogs and jack russels, trotting happily along on their leashes, or trotting with a big group of all sizes of dogs with their dog walker.
I love how different parts of the city feel so different - like how the financial district feels like it's straight out of a Batman movie with its winding cobblestone streets.
I Love New York. |
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| Squee! |
[Jul. 2nd, 2009|08:25 pm] |
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| Not dead, just tired |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|09:45 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Husband typing | ] |
I have faithfully been reading my flist entries, but have been too pooped to post, myself.
Worried about moving--have just put in two requests for quotes from pro movers, and also looked at PODS (yikes!). Money is limited, so I shall have to see what we do in about 30 days. Can you say denial?! I do NOT want to do this myself. That will be major suckage.
M. is still applying all over the country. He sits at the computer every night filling out applications and having the dept admin assistant send out his dossier (for over a month) but we still have not heard from anyone.
Thus, I am planning that we move back to where we were before we were here, and stay put for a year (or two?) while he finishes The Beast and C. can finish the fifth (and possibly the sixth) grade in one school.
Jobs are not looking so hot over there, but I have to figure something out. Blurgh.
This is not a positive post, I know, but at least y'all know I haven't died.
RIP Farrah Fawcett, MJ, Karl Malden, and Billy, the OxyClean dude. And the lady from Are You Being Served. |
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| Vid Challenge Win and Other Stuff |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|10:53 pm] |
Remember that Kawoosh Foreign Language Challenge a few weeks ago? Well, I got first place!!! SqueeeeEEEEE! *faints* Thank you everyone who voted, even if you didn't vote for me!
As for the other stuff, I'm still up to my ears in Real Life. I hope to get freed up next week. My daughter was in town last weekend and I had to spend every second possible with her. She went back home and I miss her already. *wipes tear* |
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| When Vegetables Attack ~ 'Splosion! |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|11:57 am] |
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http://oneschemeofhappiness.typepad.com/home/2009/07/when-vegetables-attack-splosion.html You just have to know when to get out of the way.
When I was about nine years old, an elderly neighbor of ours diedin a home canning accident. I never heard all the details, but I knew it was a pressure cooker thing. Hers was one of the early funerals I attended (my third, I think), and for years I was haunted by visions of her crumpled old body sprawled in her kitchen, streaked with blood and pickling spices.
So I vowed never to get a pressure cooker, which I thought meant I couldn't can. I saw no need for a pressure cooker anyway ~ nothing I will prepare in my kitchen needs that much cooking! And memories of my grandmother's slimy pressure cooked green beans still turn my stomach (no wonder I ate no vegetables growing up).
But when I found water bath canning, I jumped into the fray. Little did I know that peppers can still 'splode at you.
It began auspiciously enough for Amy and me during our latest Canning Adventure.
A market pepper sale set us up with four pounds of red bell peppers, which we roasted, peeled, seeded and stuffed into jars ~ 2 pints and 2 half pints.
We whipped up a garlic, oil and vinegar pickling solution, poured it over the peppers and dunked them into their 15 minute bath.
Thank god for pot lids! We really didn't even hear the explosion. We only found the floating remains when we lifted the top to fish out the jars.
We are fine. It wasn't even scary (just a little gross ~ soggy red peppers are less than appetizing). Thus, in spite of our kamikaze pepper jar, we will continue to can and freeze and explore all the fun that the farmers' market has to offer this summer. |
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