So, we're going to Jamaica, December 5. I'm excited, nervous, excited...
Check this place out!
Swanky, no? We went for the Honeymoon Grande Luxe Beachfront Concierge Room, too. Sounds really out there, I know, but what it translates to is a bottom of the top of the line rooms. The nicest room they have, right on the beach over looking the water, but not a suite. We're simple folk. We don't NEED more than 1 room, for 5 days, and we thought the butler was a bit over the top.
So, wardrobes, this brings me to my biggest dilemma, with this vacation. What the FUCK will I wear? They specify "Resort Casual" then further define it thusly:
Resort Casual
Dress shorts or jeans are permitted. Swim wear must be dry and covered. No bare feet.
Resort Evening
Dress pants for gentlemen. Shirts with sleeves and collar. Dress shoes.
On most nights you will need to dress casually elegant or elegant. This all depends on the restaurants you wish to dine in. Many couples change into more comfortable clothing after dinner. None of our restaurants require a jacket to be worn.
I guess I can handle that. I'm gonna have to buy some new clothes, though. I'm sitting here in a pair of tight black jeans, and a Slayer shirt, and I just don't think it's gonna fly, down there. Maybe capris, I have a few of them, maybe I could go find a nice sundress or two. Meh. Irv's lucky, though, we bought him a few pairs of khaki shorts, and he has a polo shirt, or two, and his Hawaiian shirt.
Then there's the dread of being in public, in a bathing suit. *cringe* The up-side is, I'll likely never see any of those people again.
But, all this talk of clothes had me thinking about it. I mean...we have our everyday wardrobe, work clothes, stuff we go out in, THEN, "resort casual" then...we have camping clothes (really warm stuff, that we don't mind letting get dirty, and is comfortable enough to layer and sleep in, lives in our camping box). It's like, we have to have a seperate wardrobe for every aspect of our lives. Lame. I want this teeshirt, and these jeans to carry me almost anywhere.
8.31.2005
And yeah...
I am concerned about New Orleans, very much so. Only, I've been reading up on it, watching CNN, and venting about it over on ACF, where I can commiserate with a group, rather than talk about it here. It's not a personal-whine, which is what this place is for. So, if you skim this looking for my feelings, this entry is all you get. It's terrible, it's horrifying, my heart goes out to the people, and the area. The looters piss me off so bad, stuff like this isn't supposed to bring out the worst in folks, it's supposed to bring out the best. Etc.
Don't be alarmed...
It was time for a change. I was sick of the doom and gloom purple and grey. Dark is good. Lime green is better. I hope this doesn't change the way you think of me...
We regret to inform you...
I just spent time composing one of those "We regret to inform you that we're raising the prices on your lawn service, due to the drastic increase of the price of gas" letters, and now I have to do a mass mailing. I expect to lose a ton of customers. And, I don't blame them. Everything's jumping, LEAPING up in cost, who can afford to have their grass cut professionally?
This economy is in the shithole. Pretty soon, it's gonna be like it was during the French Revolution. There won't BE a middle class. There's gonna be the very very rich, and...the rest of us.
Yesterday, Irv suggested we go to New Hope, on Sunday, just for the nice drive out there, and a pleasant way to kill an afternoon. Now I'm like...damn, can we afford that? It's an hour long road trip! Normally, it's our "cheap day". But, with the way things are changing, an hour long ride is going to become something people save up for.
This economy is in the shithole. Pretty soon, it's gonna be like it was during the French Revolution. There won't BE a middle class. There's gonna be the very very rich, and...the rest of us.
Yesterday, Irv suggested we go to New Hope, on Sunday, just for the nice drive out there, and a pleasant way to kill an afternoon. Now I'm like...damn, can we afford that? It's an hour long road trip! Normally, it's our "cheap day". But, with the way things are changing, an hour long ride is going to become something people save up for.
8.30.2005
Recipes
I found myself, in the long drought of not writing, coming back here, once in awhile to look for drink recipes. I'm glad I saved some of my favorites. I think, in light of how useful that turned out to be, I'm gonna peg some of my cooking successes here.
For instance, the other night, I made this soup, it's an Italian sausage and greens soup, loosely based on Olive Garden's zuppa toscana.
I say loosely based, because I ate it there, decided I loved it, and tried to replicate it, years ago. What I came up with was 50 times better. My latest incarnation of it was THE BEST, so I'm gonna document it.
No, this isn't an exact recipe, it's like a cooking memo, to myself.
6 link of hot Italian sausage, removed from its casing
1 Yukon Gold potato (I'm thinking about doing away with potatoes all together sometime, and subbing in a can of cannelini)
1 piece of bacon, chopped
1/2 of a small onion, minced finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of white wine
huge pinch of red pepper flakes
freshly ground black pepper
about an ounce (a chunk the size of a walnut) of grated parmesan
1 big can of chicken broth, low sodium, or whatever. I really liked Cento brand
pound, pound and a half of roughly chopped Kale
uh, heavy cream...a lot, probably a pint, I didn't measure
Ok:
Have a big soup pot on one burner, and a nonstick pan on the other. Don't turn the pot on yet, you have some frying to do.
Before that, though, take the potato, scrub it good, poke holes in it, and microwave it till it's cooked, like a baked potato.
In the meantime, fry the sausage, till browned and crumbly. I usually make a HUGE patty out of it, in the pan, using two spatulas, then sort of get it mostly cooked that way, then hack it apart using the spatulas, into browny little half-bitesized bits. Drain the sausage over something, in a paper towel, in a colander. Sausage=good Grease=bad. While that's draining, cook the chopped bacon till it gets light brown, then dump the onions and garlic in on top of things. Low heat is good, you don't want brown, you want sauteed. When they're nearly done, dump the white wine in, and sort of deglaze the pan.
Remember the potato? Should be cool enough to handle by now, if you started it before everything else. Dice it up into half inch cubes.
Into the pot goes the sausage, the deglazed wine/onion/garlic/bacon mix, potato cubes, and the can of chicken broth. Add the parmesan, finely chopped or shredded, along with a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes, and a good generous amount of black pepper. Let it come to a low boil, then add the chopped kale. Let it simmer with the kale for like 10-15 minutes, till it looks good and wilty, then add enough heavy cream to fill it out, and make it look creamy. Let it get hot and bubbling again.
Best served with a loaf of crusty-untoasted bread, and an awesome Mozzarella Caprese salad.
For instance, the other night, I made this soup, it's an Italian sausage and greens soup, loosely based on Olive Garden's zuppa toscana.
I say loosely based, because I ate it there, decided I loved it, and tried to replicate it, years ago. What I came up with was 50 times better. My latest incarnation of it was THE BEST, so I'm gonna document it.
No, this isn't an exact recipe, it's like a cooking memo, to myself.
6 link of hot Italian sausage, removed from its casing
1 Yukon Gold potato (I'm thinking about doing away with potatoes all together sometime, and subbing in a can of cannelini)
1 piece of bacon, chopped
1/2 of a small onion, minced finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of white wine
huge pinch of red pepper flakes
freshly ground black pepper
about an ounce (a chunk the size of a walnut) of grated parmesan
1 big can of chicken broth, low sodium, or whatever. I really liked Cento brand
pound, pound and a half of roughly chopped Kale
uh, heavy cream...a lot, probably a pint, I didn't measure
Ok:
Have a big soup pot on one burner, and a nonstick pan on the other. Don't turn the pot on yet, you have some frying to do.
Before that, though, take the potato, scrub it good, poke holes in it, and microwave it till it's cooked, like a baked potato.
In the meantime, fry the sausage, till browned and crumbly. I usually make a HUGE patty out of it, in the pan, using two spatulas, then sort of get it mostly cooked that way, then hack it apart using the spatulas, into browny little half-bitesized bits. Drain the sausage over something, in a paper towel, in a colander. Sausage=good Grease=bad. While that's draining, cook the chopped bacon till it gets light brown, then dump the onions and garlic in on top of things. Low heat is good, you don't want brown, you want sauteed. When they're nearly done, dump the white wine in, and sort of deglaze the pan.
Remember the potato? Should be cool enough to handle by now, if you started it before everything else. Dice it up into half inch cubes.
Into the pot goes the sausage, the deglazed wine/onion/garlic/bacon mix, potato cubes, and the can of chicken broth. Add the parmesan, finely chopped or shredded, along with a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes, and a good generous amount of black pepper. Let it come to a low boil, then add the chopped kale. Let it simmer with the kale for like 10-15 minutes, till it looks good and wilty, then add enough heavy cream to fill it out, and make it look creamy. Let it get hot and bubbling again.
Best served with a loaf of crusty-untoasted bread, and an awesome Mozzarella Caprese salad.
8.29.2005
I know, I know, I suck
There are a lot of things I want to blog about, a lot of stuff that blogging would help me figure out, or just feel good to put somewhere. Just not stuff I feel like sharing.
The old double edged sword of the blog. Yay! Readers! Oh no...readers...
Instead, I'm gonna go with a meme I've seen on other blogs, not something anyone tagged me with, but something I'm just gonna use to build some inspiration, and get this thing rolling again.
5 Things I Miss From My Childhood
1. Spending time at my grandmother's house.
She and I were very close when I was little, my mom was always going out, so I stayed with her 3-4 nights a week, when I was a kid. I miss it a lot.
She was never much of a cook, she would make pots of ramen noodles, with twice the right amount of water, and then proceed to empty the fridge of leftovers, into the pot. Leftover mashed potatoes? In they went. Leftover omlette from breakfast at the diner? In it went. Leftover pot roast, from dinner two nights ago? You guessed it. She would simmer the glop, till the noodles were downright squishy, then eat it happily. Me? I would bring TV dinners, to eat while I was there, or later, I learned to cook for myself. But, there's something I miss about sitting at her kitchen table, wincing as she dug through the fridge, producing all sorts of random odds and ends.
Breakfasts were fun, though, she would give me a $10 spot, to go to the bodega down the street, and buy a bag of Portugese rolls. I would always use a bit of the change and buy some candy, for later. But, I'd walk home with this huge crispy bag of rolls, and when I'd get back, she would have a cup of camomile tea ready for me, and coffee for herself, and we would eat the rolls, dipping them in our drinks. Often we finished up with a grapefruit, or an orange. She would always peel them in such a way that they wouldn't have any of the tough fibery parts.
She had a spare bedroom, with a queen sized bed, right next to her own room, I would sleep in there, most of the time. The room was so fancy, with this cream colored theme. The comforter and curtains had this huge fern print, in wild greens. I always felt so sophisticated sleeping in that huge fancy room. She kept her perfume bottles on a mirror, on top of this low dresser. I would sit and look in the mirror, over those perfume bottles, and feel so grown up. It was all very glamorous, to me. Even though I slept in there for years, that feeling never wore off.
Sometimes, she wouldn't be able to sleep, or I wouldn't, and she would tell me stories of WW2 and the time she spent in concentration camps. I would lay there silent, straining to hear her speaking quietly, she would often cry a little, while she was relating the stories. I don't remember them so much, but I rememember the feelings they gave me. A lot of times, I would go into her room, and crawl into her bed next to her, and try to get her to stop crying. Her room was sooo different from the guest room. Very lacy, and homy, a huge old fashioned sewing machine dominated one side of the room, looking out this giant picture window, over the street below. Her room was always sorta messy, too, piles of sewing everywhere, newspapers. Very cozy.
There's more details, but this whole blog is turning into a thing about my grandmother...
More:
2. When my dad would take me out on 'dates'
When my parents were getting divorced, there was a time, between May, when he moved out (3 days after my birthday, thanks dad...) and October, when the divorce was finalized, and he moved away, when he would see me every single weekend. He would take me out to really special places, and we would do fun things. I was 5, and a lot of the stuff we did was like, way over my head, but I just loved my dad so much, I was so enchanted by our days.
We lived in Indiana at the time, right outside of Lousiville, over the bridge by maybe 10 minutes. We went to festivals, in the summer, and to art galleries, he took me to outdoor concerts, and to fancy rich shopping districts, to walk around and have lunch. We saw movies, and went on adventures. It was a short time in my life, right before things sorta crumbled, but for what it's worth, it was absolute bliss. I still carry the memories from every weekend, and look back at them.
3. Trick or Treating
Halloween is my favorite holiday. Always was, always will be. I used to look forward (and still do) to Halloween, for half the year, scheming, planning my costume, waiting for the big day. I still do, but for Alden. I love getting dressed up, myself, but...where does one go? I hate clubs, parties...but I love getting dressed up.
I miss rushing home from school (or omg omg Saturday Halloweens were so GREAT) and diving into my costume, grabbing my pillowcase and rushing out to the corner to meet my buddies, or over to Jessy's house, to get her and her brother. Being a kid on Halloween is SOOO COOL. I mean, it's still a totally magical night, but it's magnified, then. Walking the town, boasting about how much ground you covered, making trips home to dump out your loot, and go out for more.
4. I miss reading, like I used to.
I was always a huge reader. I would just rip through books. I still read fast, but, when I get the time, or have the concentration to do so. I would come home from school, dash off my homework, and either run outside, on nice days, and sit on the huge covered swing, in the garden and read till dark. Or, I would lay crosswise on my bed, with my feet under the blankets, and stay there till dinner. I would finish 2-3 normal-kid books a day, when I got on jags. When I was 11, I discovered grownup literature, I was reading Stephen King, by 12. I wouldn't tear through those as fast, taking maybe 3 or 4 days to read one. I miss that. I miss all the time I could devote to reading, and how voraciously devoured knowledge, and fantasy. When I was 12, I also read Grey's Anatomy, half of my mom's 1978 Encylopedia Britannica, and just TONS of nonfiction. I went on a real knowledge kick, back then. I had this huge interest in astronomy, the human body, dinosaurs, and archeology. Stuff I was into then has shaped a lot of who I am now.
Now, I just don't have the drive, as much. Not only that, but when I DO feel like sitting down and reading, for some reason, book open in front of me = free time. Free time = pester me. "Oh, you're not busy..." I still do it when we go camping, though. I choose a few new books very carefully, and the whole 5-7 days we're out there, if I'm not cooking or hiking, I'm reading intensely.
5. Sleep Overs
Weren't sleep overs so cool? When you got to go to a friend's house, and stay over night. I loved that. My friends Becky, and later Jessy, would sleep over all the time, we would be at each others houses almost every weekend. We always did the typical stuff, games, TV, movies, make some bizarre food, annoyed each other's parents, but it was SO cool. As we got older, Jess and I would get into trouble, sneaking out of the house, going in the pool at 3 am, barbecuing our breakfast at 5 am...but that was when I was a teenager, so it doesn't count for this. But, I also loved sleeping over friends' houses. What a cool change of pace, eating their family's breakfast, seeing how other people lived, and what they did. I remember my friend Onnie's mom teaching us all how to swingdance, at 10 pm, one night, in her kitchen. There was like 3-4 of us 7 year old girls, in our nightgowns, swingdancing to old music. That was before it became big again, so this was something TOTALLY foreign to us.
That was a fun little writing assignment. As I was thinking of all this stuff (and limiting it to 5, there was a few more I could think of, like Saturday morning cartoons, class trips, and going to amusement parks to ride rides...) I was thinking, what if Alden wrote this, 20 years from now. Would he look back fondly on all sorts of stuff? I mean, I know he would, we make it our life's work to provide him with a fun and interesting childhood. But, what things would stand out most for him? Would he fondly remember things that we're doing for him? Real memory makers, stuff that's a huge deal to us (Twisted Sister concert...all the museums and culture we expose him to, etc) Or would it be "I used to watch this really cool cartoon..." Sometimes I don't know, he's got such weird interests.
The old double edged sword of the blog. Yay! Readers! Oh no...readers...
Instead, I'm gonna go with a meme I've seen on other blogs, not something anyone tagged me with, but something I'm just gonna use to build some inspiration, and get this thing rolling again.
5 Things I Miss From My Childhood
1. Spending time at my grandmother's house.
She and I were very close when I was little, my mom was always going out, so I stayed with her 3-4 nights a week, when I was a kid. I miss it a lot.
She was never much of a cook, she would make pots of ramen noodles, with twice the right amount of water, and then proceed to empty the fridge of leftovers, into the pot. Leftover mashed potatoes? In they went. Leftover omlette from breakfast at the diner? In it went. Leftover pot roast, from dinner two nights ago? You guessed it. She would simmer the glop, till the noodles were downright squishy, then eat it happily. Me? I would bring TV dinners, to eat while I was there, or later, I learned to cook for myself. But, there's something I miss about sitting at her kitchen table, wincing as she dug through the fridge, producing all sorts of random odds and ends.
Breakfasts were fun, though, she would give me a $10 spot, to go to the bodega down the street, and buy a bag of Portugese rolls. I would always use a bit of the change and buy some candy, for later. But, I'd walk home with this huge crispy bag of rolls, and when I'd get back, she would have a cup of camomile tea ready for me, and coffee for herself, and we would eat the rolls, dipping them in our drinks. Often we finished up with a grapefruit, or an orange. She would always peel them in such a way that they wouldn't have any of the tough fibery parts.
She had a spare bedroom, with a queen sized bed, right next to her own room, I would sleep in there, most of the time. The room was so fancy, with this cream colored theme. The comforter and curtains had this huge fern print, in wild greens. I always felt so sophisticated sleeping in that huge fancy room. She kept her perfume bottles on a mirror, on top of this low dresser. I would sit and look in the mirror, over those perfume bottles, and feel so grown up. It was all very glamorous, to me. Even though I slept in there for years, that feeling never wore off.
Sometimes, she wouldn't be able to sleep, or I wouldn't, and she would tell me stories of WW2 and the time she spent in concentration camps. I would lay there silent, straining to hear her speaking quietly, she would often cry a little, while she was relating the stories. I don't remember them so much, but I rememember the feelings they gave me. A lot of times, I would go into her room, and crawl into her bed next to her, and try to get her to stop crying. Her room was sooo different from the guest room. Very lacy, and homy, a huge old fashioned sewing machine dominated one side of the room, looking out this giant picture window, over the street below. Her room was always sorta messy, too, piles of sewing everywhere, newspapers. Very cozy.
There's more details, but this whole blog is turning into a thing about my grandmother...
More:
2. When my dad would take me out on 'dates'
When my parents were getting divorced, there was a time, between May, when he moved out (3 days after my birthday, thanks dad...) and October, when the divorce was finalized, and he moved away, when he would see me every single weekend. He would take me out to really special places, and we would do fun things. I was 5, and a lot of the stuff we did was like, way over my head, but I just loved my dad so much, I was so enchanted by our days.
We lived in Indiana at the time, right outside of Lousiville, over the bridge by maybe 10 minutes. We went to festivals, in the summer, and to art galleries, he took me to outdoor concerts, and to fancy rich shopping districts, to walk around and have lunch. We saw movies, and went on adventures. It was a short time in my life, right before things sorta crumbled, but for what it's worth, it was absolute bliss. I still carry the memories from every weekend, and look back at them.
3. Trick or Treating
Halloween is my favorite holiday. Always was, always will be. I used to look forward (and still do) to Halloween, for half the year, scheming, planning my costume, waiting for the big day. I still do, but for Alden. I love getting dressed up, myself, but...where does one go? I hate clubs, parties...but I love getting dressed up.
I miss rushing home from school (or omg omg Saturday Halloweens were so GREAT) and diving into my costume, grabbing my pillowcase and rushing out to the corner to meet my buddies, or over to Jessy's house, to get her and her brother. Being a kid on Halloween is SOOO COOL. I mean, it's still a totally magical night, but it's magnified, then. Walking the town, boasting about how much ground you covered, making trips home to dump out your loot, and go out for more.
4. I miss reading, like I used to.
I was always a huge reader. I would just rip through books. I still read fast, but, when I get the time, or have the concentration to do so. I would come home from school, dash off my homework, and either run outside, on nice days, and sit on the huge covered swing, in the garden and read till dark. Or, I would lay crosswise on my bed, with my feet under the blankets, and stay there till dinner. I would finish 2-3 normal-kid books a day, when I got on jags. When I was 11, I discovered grownup literature, I was reading Stephen King, by 12. I wouldn't tear through those as fast, taking maybe 3 or 4 days to read one. I miss that. I miss all the time I could devote to reading, and how voraciously devoured knowledge, and fantasy. When I was 12, I also read Grey's Anatomy, half of my mom's 1978 Encylopedia Britannica, and just TONS of nonfiction. I went on a real knowledge kick, back then. I had this huge interest in astronomy, the human body, dinosaurs, and archeology. Stuff I was into then has shaped a lot of who I am now.
Now, I just don't have the drive, as much. Not only that, but when I DO feel like sitting down and reading, for some reason, book open in front of me = free time. Free time = pester me. "Oh, you're not busy..." I still do it when we go camping, though. I choose a few new books very carefully, and the whole 5-7 days we're out there, if I'm not cooking or hiking, I'm reading intensely.
5. Sleep Overs
Weren't sleep overs so cool? When you got to go to a friend's house, and stay over night. I loved that. My friends Becky, and later Jessy, would sleep over all the time, we would be at each others houses almost every weekend. We always did the typical stuff, games, TV, movies, make some bizarre food, annoyed each other's parents, but it was SO cool. As we got older, Jess and I would get into trouble, sneaking out of the house, going in the pool at 3 am, barbecuing our breakfast at 5 am...but that was when I was a teenager, so it doesn't count for this. But, I also loved sleeping over friends' houses. What a cool change of pace, eating their family's breakfast, seeing how other people lived, and what they did. I remember my friend Onnie's mom teaching us all how to swingdance, at 10 pm, one night, in her kitchen. There was like 3-4 of us 7 year old girls, in our nightgowns, swingdancing to old music. That was before it became big again, so this was something TOTALLY foreign to us.
That was a fun little writing assignment. As I was thinking of all this stuff (and limiting it to 5, there was a few more I could think of, like Saturday morning cartoons, class trips, and going to amusement parks to ride rides...) I was thinking, what if Alden wrote this, 20 years from now. Would he look back fondly on all sorts of stuff? I mean, I know he would, we make it our life's work to provide him with a fun and interesting childhood. But, what things would stand out most for him? Would he fondly remember things that we're doing for him? Real memory makers, stuff that's a huge deal to us (Twisted Sister concert...all the museums and culture we expose him to, etc) Or would it be "I used to watch this really cool cartoon..." Sometimes I don't know, he's got such weird interests.
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