Creative Cooking Concept.5 The Wedger

While babysitting recently I stumbled upon a goldmine of a discovery. The apple wedger. I realize to most people this isn't breaking news. But to the girl who rarely eats apples because she see them as "too much work"..... well, let's just say I was thrilled... In an effort to make a healthy side dish with our pasta I grabbed three small apples from the fridge and the 6-year-old showed me how it works. Of course theirs was a pampered chef wedger and the one I recently bought was a lil Michael Graves number from Target... but I think it works just great and mine has handles that fold in for easy storage. So the snack of the week is probably boring to most but revolutionary to me.... Sliced apples dipped in Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt. Delish.

Donating my Body to Science

Okay, I've done the nutritional lab studies..... and the plasma donation and now my willingness to sacrifice my body for cash has reached a new level. I just returned from the first weekend of a PRACS study and I think I might die. I will defintely be writing more about this but right now I think my blood pressure might be too low to actually do this post justice. [77 systolic and 52 diastolic last time it was checked] The best part is that I have three return blood draws and then a 3 day break before I do it all again. Woo Hoo! I was sure that all this confinement at their onsite location would simply be a GREAT way to catch up on reading or movie watching... what I didn't realize is that I would feel like the walking dead. Okay, I should quit complaining I will be compensated well for this. I had just hoped it would be a little more fun.

Creative Cooking Concept.4 Holy Moly! It's Guacamole!

Yesterday I was seized with an undeniable craving... I'm starting to realize that this sort of thing happens often. (not really a good indicator for future weight loss, I'm afraid) The name of this one was guacamole. Yum. I was babysitting that morning and began my fixation by describing for the kids what it's like. I got to the part about the avocadoes and Rosa got excited and said... we know what that is... and she turned to her brother and said... it's the fruit with alligator skin and is all slimy inside. Hmmm... Sounds, delish! So I picked up some ingredients on my way home and whipped up a batch. The way I make it is a little different each time. It all depends on the size of the avocadoes or the size of the tomatoes...

This is the general idea:

2-3 avocadoes (split these in half and scoop out the avocado and mash it up)

1-2 tomatoes (only the firm part... remove all seeds and juice--I've discovered halving the tomatoes and using a grapefruit spoon works well)

two or three cloves of garlic finely chopped

juice from a couple lemons (or in a pinch I substitute real lemon juice from the bottle... not QUITE as good, but it'll do)

salt and pepper to taste

Another tip I picked up from my friend Sara H. is to save the pits of the avocado and to bury them in the guacamole and seal it up in an airtight container. Between the lemon juice and the pits I find it doesn't turn brown like it often does.

All right.... Carry On.

Project Runway Season Three is Here!
And I can tell it's going to be a fun one. Heidi Klum is looking lovely and there is something about that woman... It's like I wouldn't MIND being rejected or "Auffed" by her... Wikipedia has a list of the designers and also a brief description of the last two challenges. I really don't like reality TV... I mean it. But the creativity is so terrific that I look forward to new episode Wednesdays so I can see what new challenge Heidi and the Gang have cooked up and how each designer will fulfill it.

The first week I think I liked Laura's coat best. But I did like this coffee filter dress... if nothing else, for its creativity. The highlight for me, though, was seeing Kate Spade in action, as she was a guest judge. I am not an artist, or a designer .......... or a figure skater, dancer, astronomer, actor, or singer--all things I've wanted to be. Still, that doesn't mean that I don't wish I could grow up to be like Kate Spade one day. I guess I will content myself with a little hero worship and maybe I can be content with having "style".... THAT at least would be good to emulate.

Challenge two was a team challenge to create a pageant dress to be worn by Miss America at the Miss Universe pageant and I felt from the little footage we saw that Angela was given a raw deal.... What I mean is that Vincent was VERY hard to work with and kept telling her to go away and then turned it around and said she didn't do anything. On the flipside she didn't impress me with the whole "I don't sketch" stuff and the immediate attempts to latch onto Kayne before they pitched their ideas. Furthermore, there seemed to be SUCH animosity in the room directed toward her that I guessed there was more we just didn't see on the camera. I mean, really... so you don't like his design. It's not great... but it's too late--you are on his team. Suck it up and be as helpful as you can.... TRY for heaven's sake. I wonder if her lack of sketching power also translates into lack of designing ability as well.

This time around I liked the winning dress fine... but I think I liked white dress best... the back was terrific. Very classy. But then I'm not into the whole pageant thing. I am expecting to like Laura Bennett, Katharine Gerdes, Bonnie Dominguez, Allison Kelley right off... but it's hard to say so soon into the show.

Some Kind of Saturday

Saturday evenings are reserved for trivia... It's the bar kind but not the typical NTN kind that one might see in a sports bar. Instead this is live trivia with a quizmaster who reads questions and the long standing teams write their answers down on paper and turn them in at the end of the round. We play for gift certificates to the bar, but mostly for pride. Some of the teams have been around since the beginning (more than 15 years ago). We've been playing for a few years and I've only joined this group last fall.

Each week there are three rounds: general trivia, music on tape (name the title and artist.. complete the lyrics), and a specialty round that follows a theme. My favorite part, though, happens between rounds two and three and after the final round. They are the "free drink" questions. And that is NOT the only reason I like it. (it's a tense and exciting time) The trivia-man usually does a song on tape... and he starts with something fairly unrecognizable or obscure and people around the room are now playing for themselves.. trying to name the musician. These questions are done out loud and hands are raised and people are called on... when a wrong answer is given, it costs the participant a quarter which is tossed on the dance floor. If the answer is right a free drink card is issued and a new free drink question begins. Sometimes the quiz-master reads clues in 20 question format until someone guesses the identity of the person (usually it's a person). Whoever answers the last question of the evening correctly wins all the quarters on the floor.

Our team ranges from 4-8 of us.... often we bring guests. This week there were two of us and a guest and though we came in dead last on one of the rounds and didn't do so hot on the other rounds it was still fun and Pam even won a free drink. My goal is that SOMEONE on our team must always win a free drink to make up for the fact that we are permanently planted at 3rd or 4th place. I am a goal oriented-list making fool.... It keeps me focused and gives me a "purpose."

Following our trivia ass-kicking, we topped it off with a stop at a bar none of us had frequented. The Highlander. It wasn't like I thought it would be. We didn't stay all that long but just long enough to play four games of bingo. After the first bingo round, Pam was all confused. She asked within the hearing of our server... do you just shout bingo if you win? How do they know if you win?" And Sara and I gave her a strange look... we'd both heard the bingo-er call out, but Pam deep in concentration totally missed it. The waitress looked sympathetic (for our profound naievety, I suppose), and then said, "I thought everyone knew that." :)

Later. we decided to try out some of the late night menu at Sanders and Sara was eager to order a martini. She knew they had a LONG list of options (154 to be precise), and so she asked our rather serious waiter if he would recommend one. His deadpan response was, "Yes, I would. One or two, but not three...."

Perhaps our drinks from earlier was enough to make us giggle, but for some reason that seemed very funny. So we worked our way through the list and I settled on chocolate because it seemed fun. It was only "okay." Then, I spent the next hour or so nibbling on veggie quesadilla, escargot, and artichoke dip, trying to remember this quote.

I like to have a martini,
two at the very most.
After three I'm under the table.
After four, I'm under the host!
--Dorothy Parker

It's a Happy-Clappy Day!

ONE YEAR ONLINE!
Is this a birthday, anniversary or national holiday?

I am leaning toward an anniversary, because I've always wanted one.
Traditional first anniversaries are celebrated with paper.
Ahh... and we are online. Hmmmmm.......

Perhaps I will treat myself to a book.

Ahhhhhhhhhh.................

When it's 95 degrees I believe the remedy is 95 minutes in the pool.
It's not a precise science, but it worked today.

Vast Flatness Makes My Heart Thud with a Joyous Clamour

Meet my sister!

These are some pictures taken by her.

Cherry, Cherry.....

I love this!

.... You Take the Good, You Take the Bad.....

you take 'em both and there you have.... The Facts of Life.

I have a weakness for nostalgia. Especially the pop culture sort... Love's Baby Soft perfume, Maybelline's kissing potion lip gloss, Jean Nate bath splash and, heck, I still wear my Dr. Scholls.... TV Land is usually enough to keep me satisfied with periodic doses of TV shows I'd nearly forgotten.... Night Court, Wings, Three's Company and an occasional Little House on the Prairie. But this week I stumbled upon seasons one and two of Facts of Life on DVD at the library. Now normally, this show wouldn't be all that exciting to me, but season one and two are the seasons that linger back, back, way back in the recesses of my memory, so much so that I was stunned to see Molly Ringwald in all her ten-year-old glory playing the role of Molly Parker (at least for season one) and I've only watched 1/2 of the first season so far. The theme song is different, there's a headmaster called Mr. Bradley and a bunch of girls that only stuck around until about three episodes into season three. Still, this is the show I remember, as it rushes back to me with startling clarity. Tootie on her roller skates, Blair being Blair, Natalie cracking jokes, and pretty much everyone else running around in the skimpiest gym shorts ever worrying about their IQ scores, and generally being after-school special sweet to each other.

The highlight, though, was in episode five of season one "Career Day" when the girls all discussed their future goals and Molly stood up with her sad little four stringed guitar and declared with enthusiasm... "I want to be the Joan Baez of the 80's. Listen (strum, strum):

The skies are junky
The lakes are chunky
The oceans are gunky
I feel like a lab monkey
Stop grossing up America,
you turkeys!"

Update: After finishing season one I had another surprise... Helen Hunt.... In episode 13, she plays a pot smoking student who is part of "The Group" that Sue Ann and Blair want to join. She also memorably appeared as a young woman who, while on LSD, jumps out of a second story window in a 1982 after school special called Desperate Lives or so it says on Wikipedia.

After soaking in season one I feel as though I am ready to face any issue: divorce, premarital sex, flash floods, crushes on older men, pot smoking, crash dieting, unhealthy competition, IQ tests, floozy mothers, adoption, tomboy teasing, future career goals, plagiarism, stereotyping, and gambling.

Folk This!

As of tomorrow I will miss the Folk Festival in Winnipeg. For some reason, I feel this loss more than I would have expected. There are reasons I am not going. One of those involves money. The bigger reason is I am pretty sure I'd have to go alone, (or bring my sister and foot the bill for her too) as I know no one here who also shares this burning desire. Thirdly, my trivia team signed up to host trivia this Saturday... That means we've spent time creating questions, selecting music, and getting everything prepared and I would feel bad if I was ditching them for anything less than an overseas trip!

I contemplated going for the whole four days and even camping out. I loved the idea. Why have these summer days off if I can't do extraordinary thing like that? Then when I realized both the cost and the fact that it fell on D-day trivia-style I thought about going just for the day on Friday. The musical line-up would do nicely and yet, I was pretty sure that once I was there and already staying over night it would kill me not to go back to Bird's Hill Park the next day and take in the Saturday afternoon shows and well I stalled out, doing nothing.......

Here's the performers line-up.

I did think it would be really neat to hear Solomon Burke and I was especially looking forward to Neko Case. To compensate for that loss I plan to buy her latest CD today. It's cheaper than a concert ticket and if I close my eyes I can imagine I am there reclining in my lawn chair, listening live.

Even better... I discovered through her site an NPR Live Concert series I missed with Ms. Case AND Martha Wainwright on April 10, 2006. On the NPR site there is a way to listen to both segments or to download it for later. I did both. It's like I was there.... only I am still in bed and naked, so even better.

101 Things to do in 1001 days-- 632 days remain

So far I've completed....
14 of the 101 things on my list....

1. Created a website
6. Publish something
8. Organize my school files
10. Buy a laptop computer
14. Buy a digital camera
19. See Mamma Mia
28. Eat at a New Restaurant in Winnipeg--Saffrons
39. Go to a Concert--MN Bluegrass Festival... MANY concerts there 49. Learn to make lefse
54. Spend time with Grandma
60. Start a Sat. Night Trivia group at El Roco
76. Eat at Kon Nechi Wahs
81. Start doing yoga
96. Go stargazing at an observatory

... and I've made progress on 8 of the 101

4. Watch all the Bond films--I've watched 8.

5. Write 100 poems--I've written one.

16. Read 50 of the hundreds of books I own buy have not read--I've read 10.

65. Learn to greet people in 10 unusual languages--Namaste (Nepal)

66. Learn how to knit something besides stitches--bought a book, learned stitch patterns, took a class, followed first pattern to make a flower for a scarf.

68. Sell, donate, or just get rid of 101 items in an effort to downsize my stuff--have 24 items now on that list.

88. Buy a harmonica and learn how to play it--well, I bought one.

101. Watch all the films I haven't already seen in Roger Ebert's books The Great Movies Volumes I and II-- in volume I -- I'd already seen 23/100 of the films... and now I've seen two more... so I'm 1/4 of the way there... in Volume II I'd seen 18/100 and now I've seen two more so I only have 80 more to watch.

Reading, Watching, Listening...... June in Review

What I Was Reading in June
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
13 Ways of Looking at a Novel by Jane Smiley
Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Soldier in the Rain by William Goldman




Young Adult/Juvenile Books completed in June
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Across the Nightingale Floor:The Sword of the Warrior Episode One by Lian Hearn
Across the Nightingale Floor: The Road to Inuyasha Episode Two by Lian Hearn
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Boy by Roald Dahl

Other Books completed in June
Welcome to Fred by Brad Whittington
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich

I have been somewhat permanently paused in my reading of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I am hoping that I will pick it up again soon. The same can be said for 13 Ways of Looking at a Novel. Is it because they are nonfiction? I hate to admit it, but maybe.

Instead I have been a sucker for the juvenile fiction genre this month. Perhaps I got a taste of it with those books I reviewed in May and since then I've been eating them up like candy. I reread the C.S. Lewis book prior to watching the film and I read Crank because it's been praised by my high school students and anytime I can't keep a book on the shelf because it's in that much demand, I tend to pay attention. Well, --I-- didn't love it, but that's okay. A Northern Light is a story set in 1906 and was inspired by the true story of a murder that occurred on Big Moose Lake, on the western edge of the Adirondack Mountains. The same story that inspired Theodore Dreiser to write An American Tragedy. I read Boy by Roald Dahl because I love him and I hadn't read it yet. It's his description of his childhood. I am hoping to read Going Solo sometime in July.

The biggest surprise to me this month was how Lian Hearn took me by storm. First of all, had I even realized when I bought the first volume that is was "episode one" I wouldn't have bothered. However, it conveniently left off right in the middle of the adventure and so I had to track down episode two so I could find out how it all ends. Then I immediately bought Grass for His Pillow which continues the story further. The other thing about these books is the setting/content. Feudal Japan is not usually my thing but that didn't seem to matter once I started reading.

The best book in the stack was A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. Clearly, there are reasons it won the Newberry. This one was set in 12th Century Korea and focuses on the relationship between two cast offs who have only each other and the story of how ten year old Tree Ear turns his orphan status into that of an apprentice to one of the most esteemed potters in the village.

True to Evanovich style, Eleven on Top was as delicious as a boston creme donut which I begin to crave by the end of the first chapter and then continue to think about long after the book was done. Even though Stephanie Plum has tried to quit the bounty hunter biz she's still the target of car bombers, break ins, and a lustful tug of war between Ranger and Morelli. Yum. Almost as delicious as the donut references.

Everything is Illuminated? Well, I am not even sure WHAT to say about this story. I was stunned. It bore SOME resemblance to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and I was fascinated by the style and the story. I am not sure I understood it and perhaps I was just reading too quickly. Though this is the book that took the longest for me to finish. It had at least three story lines going on and it was dripping with sex and that sort of aftermath of WWII loss. It was a book I'd like to read again with a group or a friend and discuss. Maybe I'll rent the movie?

What I Was Watching in June
On TV
TV Land (Three's Company, Wings, Night Court)
Will and Grace
Sex and the City
The Office

TV has been slow this summer. Even the DVR seems wasted when all I am doing is recording occasional reruns of The Office (which are often so brutal I can barely watch). I find myself watching a fair amount of rerun TV episodes of Will and Grace and all the rest listed here. I will say, that I can't get enough of Parker Posey's role on Will and Grace as Jack's boss at Barneys.


On DVD
My Life as a Dog
Good Night and Good Luck
Winter Passing
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Mission Impossible II
Paradise Now
Aeon Flux
The Maltese Falcon
Young Frankenstein
The Great Escape
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Crumb
Stalag 17
Jesus of Montreal
Walk the Line
The Sting

In Theatre
The Lake House


It seems so long ago that I watched some of these. Funny, eh? Of the three foreign films I watched, My Life as a Dog, Paradise Now, and Jesus of Montreal, I would say that Paradise Now definitely left the biggest impression. I have never felt I understood much about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. However this film did offer another image. It was full of though provoking quotes and it made me incredibly sad to walk in the footsteps of the characters in this Palestinian film. This is a must see.

Good Night and Good Luck is a film I had rented from Netflix for a record number of days before I finally got around to watching it and when I did I was not disappointed as I thought I might be. One observation... they really smoked a LOT in that film. Another observation... what is wrong with our country that we can live through something like the whole McCarthy era and people STILL can't see the oppression right in front of them?

I watched a fair number of older films this month and I will say that The Maltese Falcon was pure pleasure. I loved it. I have a copy of the book on its way so I don't have to quite let go yet. The Great Escape and Stalag 17 were both WWII prison camp films and very similar, but each with their own flavor. I am not sure which I prefered. At first I thought it was The Great Escape, after all it stars James Garner... but upon further reflection I realize they can't really be compared like that for me.


Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was selected because of its recent release to DVD. And I loved this one too. I guess it's a bit funny that I say I don't like "westerns" and yet I loved this one. Guess I must just like stories about "outlaws" I thought Robert Redford and Paul Newman were wonderful and their respective characters had great lines. I loved Katharine Ross too. Now I'm gushing and not saying a thing. Rent it if you've never seen it before.

The Sting was a sort of follow up to the Redford/Newman combo and it was terrific too. I was curious about this one because Sus says it's one of her faves and I was actually in a high school play version of this way back when and yet I STILL couldn't summon up any kind of memory of the storyline. I love heist type movies and this one fits right in.... actually it probably paved the way for all the ones I've loved in the last 20 years.

Crumb is a documentary based on the life of Robert Crumb. It turns out I am not all that crazy about his art: neither the style nor the subject matter, but that didn't stop me from marveling over the documentary. It's mostly personal interviews with Crumb and his family members, some ex-girlfriends and some art critics. The part that held the greatest fascination for me was in hearing about his sad childhood and seeing the impact it had on him and his two brothers.

This was my second viewing of Walk the Line and it only served to solidify my love of Reese Witherspoon. She was wonderful in that film.

What I Was Listening to in June

A bit of everything....
Mamma Mia Soundtrack
Midwestern Mix
Desert Island Blues
Edie Brickell
Dwight Yoakam
Johnny Cash
Eva Cassidy
Martin Sexton ....

.... and a random sampling from my MP3 player shuffles for June

June 1

My Doorbell by The White Stripes
Blessed to be a Witness by Ben Harper
Blue by Lucinda Williams
Telling Stories by Tracy Chapman
Good Love Never Dies by Liz Phair





--------------------
June 8

I Will... But by SheDaisy
When I Grow Up by Garbage
Don't Let Him Go by REO Speedwagon
Solitary Man by Neil Diamond
Digee Dime by Burlap to Cashmere



--------------------------
June 14
Nobody but Me by Lou Rawls
Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean by Susan Tedeschi
Combat Rock by Sleater Kinney
My Best Friend by Jefferson Airplane
Don't Stop by The Rolling Stones



-------------------------------
June 23

You Win Again by Wanda Jackson
Barabajagal by Donovan
Freedom of the Road by Martin Sexton
Sway by Michael Buble
The First Cut is the Deepest by Rod Stewart

A Diaryland Delight!

Can I just love on Mimi Smartypants for a moment? I've read her blog consistently since my discovery a few months ago, but I've not had a chance to explore the back log of brilliance. However, I would like to showcase two partial posts that left me chuckling...

(also I love her "signature line" or whatever you might call it... it changes with each post. V. funny)


This one about her daughter and their restaurant plans.

COMMUNICATION IS NOITACINUMMOC SPELLED BACKWARDS

Nora: Can you write down MISO SOUP on this piece of paper?
Me: Sure. Why?
Nora: I'm going to cut the words out, put them in my pocket, and give them to the waitress tonight [at our planned sushi outing].
Me: Well, okay---but I'm sure they will have a menu there with the words MISO SOUP on it. Plus, you know, we can speak. We can just tell the waitress about miso soup...........


This one about peeing in a cup.

MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO KNOW

..............Immediately after checking in at the urologist's office, they requested some pee. At my regular doctor, you pee in a laboratory specimen cup, with a lid. At the urologist, they just handed me a plastic drinking cup, of the sort you find stacked by the keg at a frat party, with my name magic-markered on the side. And no lid. It was as if they were trying to make a special point. "You think we are scared of a little pee? Give us a break. We are urology. We are all about pee. In open containers, no less." Then I imagine this pee-bravado spokesperson maniacally splashing pee on himself, and continuing to yell about how it does not bother him one bit. I also imagine a German accent, for some reason..........

The Fall of Man

This is unbelievable.

I discovered links to LEGO wonder on The Sheila Variations and her post was great with all sorts of fun highlights. You could begin there or simply go to the site and explore. Test your Bible knowledge. And of course if you are easily offended you might want to use the rating system that identifies which have nudity, sexual content, violence and cursing. Or if you are me, you could START there. The site is called The Brick Testament and it's maintained by the Reverend Brendan Powell Smith. For more information check it out.