My friends, family, and acquaintances have had NO IDEA what I have been up to or where I have been for the past 2 years. No one seems to be able to keep my story straight, and this has most often included me. BUT. I am here to fill in the blanks and get this sorted out once and for all. This is not as eloquent as I feel it should be, but here goes. My lone reader (Hi mom!) can take this as yet another 'planning session':
WHAT are you doing?
In a nutshell, moving to the middle of North Carolina, to homestead and (for lack of a better phrase) go back to the land. *shudder*
WHERE are you going?
The central region of North Carolina, near the newly designated Haw River Valley viticultural area (woot!). I will be living on my parents' property that has been in the family since my great-grandfather. He happened to be the civil engineer on the project when they made the lake, which is how it ended up in the fambly (the lake was renamed after him). I believe he used it as his man cave, and gardened and hunted deer out there. People still ask if the asparagus beds he put in produce (we think so). My father bought it from him in 1982, and it has always kind of been in the background - a kind of 'someday' thing. It has been quite interesting so far, especially as upon visiting it recently I was shown proof that my father was once a small kid. Evidently he did not spontaneously spring into being as I had previously thought. My mother has always had a bit of an itch to go out there and do something, as has my father, and so we're doing it.
WHEN are you leaving?
Sunday. As in this Sunday. As in please-don't-tell-me-Sunday-is-only-technically-three-days-away-Sunday. *silent panic attack*
HOW are you getting there?
By car. I'm planning on being there for good, my mother is coming for at least a few months to help get it set up, and my father will be out for a few weeks. At least that's this hour's plan. But my mother and I will be driving 2 cars out there over the next week. From Vancouver to NC. If we were going from Alaska to Florida, the route could be longer, but that's about it. Actually I haven't done a road trip (my frequent NorCal to Vancouver drives do not count, thankyouverymuch) in a while, so I'm really looking forward to it. Oh. And Zora will be coming with me. (people keep asking me if I'm taking my dog. Umm. Stop asking that, people).
We're still working on things like electricity, water, an address, etc, so....for the meantime we'll be living in a 32ft 1974 AirStream trailer. I can not express how excited I am to be moving into an airstream. Holy buckets, they're cool.
(this is the tricky one) WHY are you doing this? or Are you nuts? (yes)
*I am NOT interested in commercial farming, but I do want to grow my own food, and am aiming for 90% self-sustainability over the next few years. I don't think that it's necessarily responsible for people to shoot for the moon in terms of 'self-sustainability' - we have the phrase "it takes a village" for a reason. 100% is improbable, impractical, and, for me, impossible. I'm not going to stop eating grains because I don't grow them. Yet a lot of us live in an area where not participating in growing our food - either by doing it ourselves or supporting local farms - is just dumb. When you don't live in an extreme place where growing food takes more energy than it produces, I feel there's no excuse not to. I feel that it's more important to shoot for an attainable goal and continue that trend as a lifestyle change rather than fail miserably and go on to shopping only at Safeway. I couldn't do this financially in California (love it as I do), and my parents already own 40 acres in North Carolina outright. They are also gracious enough to let me go muck around on it. You do the math.
*Sanctimonious asshats bug me. Yup. While I am forever entertained by people and what they do, I pass no judgement on your lifestyle (unless you're a sanctimonious asshat. In which case you can bite me). You want to eat TV dinners and drive a gas guzzler, fine. I don't. So. Instead of sitting around loudly badmouthing those around me that aren't living their lives the way I think they should, I'm going to go live mine the way I think I should. If someone takes that as an example, great. If no one gives a hoot, great. If someone disagrees with something I do, great. I don't really care. I'm more impressed by and learn from those that are actually doing something, and I want to be a member of that club.
*I had a lot of changes in my life almost 2 years ago now, and I decided then that this was something I was going to move towards. It has been a slow process, but I must say that far away from anything actually coming of it as we may be, I'm mildly surprised we've come this far. Everything I own is in a storage locker in Bellingham, WA. I left my beloved cabin of 8 years. I jettisoned 10 boxes of books (I still have 9. Only one is not filled with cookbooks). I left my beloved town of Point Arena. Every article of clothing I own fits in a Rubbermaid container. My KitchenAid mixer and my juicer are the only appliances I still own. I'm passing on my 2nd computer (it's coming, D. It is.). I've left my friends behind in CA, my man in the midwest, and my sisters in the Great White North. I'm hell-bent on giving this as good as a go as possible. I secretly want to get back into food. I secretly want to make cheese. I secretly want to make honey.
Other than the burning desire to be elbow deep in food again, if you know me well all of these things should be surprising to you. And I hope that fact successfully conveys the importance of this and how seriously I am taking this.
Stay tuned. Keep your fingers crossed. Send money.
Just kidding.
UPDATE: Current plan is to leave Monday. Due to the change in trucks, the front end needs to be rebuilt first. Woot. Family tradition, upheld.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Puppy Love
Not so patiently waiting
There aren't many dogs around that look anything like my dog. Yet we managed to find 4 in Vancouver during our stay. We have become swimming buddies with one of them. I love seeing double!
Best Buds.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Organizational Dreaming
I have dreams about organized kitchens. Kitchens in which everything is in a correctly sized container, containers that match, containers that are accessible.... Refrigerators that are clean, orderly, don't have anything lurking in the backs of them that might come out to bite you (and not the other way around....).... Pantries that practically want to give you an inventory of their contents when you look in their direction....
I obviously don't have one of these kitchens. Or really a kitchen that has many of these details. The fact of the matter is I don't have a kitchen at all at the moment, but let's leave that fact aside, shall we?
My kitchens usually contain a messy yet well-intentioned stockpile of just about everything. You rarely need to go to the store for a dry good, and if you do it's probably because you're waaaay to particular to use one of the 5 other varieties of the item in question in whatever you're making.
I also have a jar collection problem.
Late into my last kitchen I learned that buying bulk is great for someone living alone. I always kind of equated buying in bulk with, well, buying in bulk. But it's actually fantastic because you can buy just a small quantity - far less than you would be able to buy in a package. (yes, lone reader, a light bulb went off in my addled brain when I figured out that gem). Hence my added justification for my jar-hoarding tendencies. You never know when you will need *that* particular size jar. This gets reconfirmed when I either 1) use a jar I know has been in my cupboard for over a year, and 2) when I get annoyed, go through my jars, throw a whole bunch out, and then need one of the jars I got rid of literally the next day.
But I digress.
What I really wanted to talk about was those damn products that come in a bag that is faaaar from resealable. They annoy me. Besides the fact that I end up with way more than I need, they feed my eclectic jar hoarding tendencies and are exasperating in that in opening them there's always that soundtrack - whoosh! "*&@#$!!!!" - followed by a frantic run for a dishcloth and the funneling with your hands of the product that has exploded all over the counter. Again. Like you knew it would but hoped that this time - this time! - it wouldn't happen.
So I like to counteract that trustworthy occurance with an act of sheer organizational prowess. In a jar. Or on a jar. You get the drift.
It starts with the collection of the following items (in my house this takes a while. As I'm at my mom's it took literally a minute. Please note the sharpie survived the move from Japan to Canada 8 years ago. Go mom!):
You can pretend the jar is empty, can't you?
Then I center the jar ring on the product name, and trace around the outside of it:
Then I cut it out:
Why cut on the inside of the line? Thanks for asking! To keep the circle more or less the same size as the jar. Accuracy is everything, people. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Then I debate about whether or not to glue it in, remember that this would mean I would have to find the glue, remember that once found I would have to choose the appropriate kind out of the 20 that I have, and finally just stick it up inside the ring sans glue, and press the lid down on top:
Then I fill the jar up (while taking breaks to shake the jar to make the contents settle as I inevitably always choose a jar that's just a shade too small), and cap.(Except usually I just wing it and cut the circle out due to my not being able to find a sharpie. But thanks for playing along with my dreams of being more organized than I am.):
Wow! That empty jar sure did fill up nicely!
And then I sit back, admire my handiwork, and place it in the over-crowded under-organized pantry where it gets swallowed up into the abyss.
I love food.
*Thanks to my mom, the lone reader, for letting me use her handwriting on my blog. Without her explicit permission. And for also unknowingly donating the jar.
I obviously don't have one of these kitchens. Or really a kitchen that has many of these details. The fact of the matter is I don't have a kitchen at all at the moment, but let's leave that fact aside, shall we?
My kitchens usually contain a messy yet well-intentioned stockpile of just about everything. You rarely need to go to the store for a dry good, and if you do it's probably because you're waaaay to particular to use one of the 5 other varieties of the item in question in whatever you're making.
I also have a jar collection problem.
Late into my last kitchen I learned that buying bulk is great for someone living alone. I always kind of equated buying in bulk with, well, buying in bulk. But it's actually fantastic because you can buy just a small quantity - far less than you would be able to buy in a package. (yes, lone reader, a light bulb went off in my addled brain when I figured out that gem). Hence my added justification for my jar-hoarding tendencies. You never know when you will need *that* particular size jar. This gets reconfirmed when I either 1) use a jar I know has been in my cupboard for over a year, and 2) when I get annoyed, go through my jars, throw a whole bunch out, and then need one of the jars I got rid of literally the next day.
But I digress.
What I really wanted to talk about was those damn products that come in a bag that is faaaar from resealable. They annoy me. Besides the fact that I end up with way more than I need, they feed my eclectic jar hoarding tendencies and are exasperating in that in opening them there's always that soundtrack - whoosh! "*&@#$!!!!" - followed by a frantic run for a dishcloth and the funneling with your hands of the product that has exploded all over the counter. Again. Like you knew it would but hoped that this time - this time! - it wouldn't happen.
So I like to counteract that trustworthy occurance with an act of sheer organizational prowess. In a jar. Or on a jar. You get the drift.
It starts with the collection of the following items (in my house this takes a while. As I'm at my mom's it took literally a minute. Please note the sharpie survived the move from Japan to Canada 8 years ago. Go mom!):
You can pretend the jar is empty, can't you?
Then I center the jar ring on the product name, and trace around the outside of it:
Why cut on the inside of the line? Thanks for asking! To keep the circle more or less the same size as the jar. Accuracy is everything, people. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Then I debate about whether or not to glue it in, remember that this would mean I would have to find the glue, remember that once found I would have to choose the appropriate kind out of the 20 that I have, and finally just stick it up inside the ring sans glue, and press the lid down on top:
Then I fill the jar up (while taking breaks to shake the jar to make the contents settle as I inevitably always choose a jar that's just a shade too small), and cap.(Except usually I just wing it and cut the circle out due to my not being able to find a sharpie. But thanks for playing along with my dreams of being more organized than I am.):
Wow! That empty jar sure did fill up nicely!
And then I sit back, admire my handiwork, and place it in the over-crowded under-organized pantry where it gets swallowed up into the abyss.
I love food.
*Thanks to my mom, the lone reader, for letting me use her handwriting on my blog. Without her explicit permission. And for also unknowingly donating the jar.
I Love This: Aussie Apple
I LOVE this idea. While I have no problem eating an apple, nor do I have any lunch-packing responsibilities at the moment, I think this is brilliant.
Also kind of reminds me of my genius use of a rubber band the other day to glue a leg back on to a fat creamer from my parents' days in Kuwait.
All hail the rubber band!
Also kind of reminds me of my genius use of a rubber band the other day to glue a leg back on to a fat creamer from my parents' days in Kuwait.
All hail the rubber band!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
#3, 2 & 1!
As I write this I am in beautiful Vancouver BC awaiting the next stop of my tour and enjoying the rain...
And for the first time since my arrival more than a week ago I have the chance to escape the chaos and ruminate on recent events...at least until my parents find me!
Things to do before I leave California #3: enjoy one more prolonged afternoon in the redwoods.
Umm. yeah. I'm hoping that this one is obvious.....
#2: enjoy one more day at the beach
Again - hoping this is obvious. My top two favorite beaches near Point Arena both became inaccessible due to various storms and whatnot in the past few years, so Schooner Gulch has turned into numero uno. I love it as it's even more ever-changinger (you haven't heard of that word before? really? what?) than some other beaches - the river may or may not go all the way to the ocean, it may or may not be deep, there may or may not be sea anemones and crabs and whatnot. Also being the site of my being chased by a mama seal and losing my shoes, it holds a soft spot in my heart. And the urban legend involving the beached whale.
#1: get out while you still can!
I love California. I am famous for walking around spouting nonsense that boils down to how much I love California. California is entertaining, beautiful, and dagnammit is populated by some of the oddest peeps I've ever met (not necessarily a bad thing). But. California is akin to that utopian concept that seems so SO close. And yet so very, very far.
And so. While much of my heart resides in Point Arena, California (home of the Point Arena Mountain Beaver, an amazing lighthouse, a great theater, my favorite bakery, and kookiness galore) I am moving on.
*raises glass to the next adventure!*
And for the first time since my arrival more than a week ago I have the chance to escape the chaos and ruminate on recent events...at least until my parents find me!
Things to do before I leave California #3: enjoy one more prolonged afternoon in the redwoods.
Umm. yeah. I'm hoping that this one is obvious.....
#2: enjoy one more day at the beach
Again - hoping this is obvious. My top two favorite beaches near Point Arena both became inaccessible due to various storms and whatnot in the past few years, so Schooner Gulch has turned into numero uno. I love it as it's even more ever-changinger (you haven't heard of that word before? really? what?) than some other beaches - the river may or may not go all the way to the ocean, it may or may not be deep, there may or may not be sea anemones and crabs and whatnot. Also being the site of my being chased by a mama seal and losing my shoes, it holds a soft spot in my heart. And the urban legend involving the beached whale.
#1: get out while you still can!
I love California. I am famous for walking around spouting nonsense that boils down to how much I love California. California is entertaining, beautiful, and dagnammit is populated by some of the oddest peeps I've ever met (not necessarily a bad thing). But. California is akin to that utopian concept that seems so SO close. And yet so very, very far.
And so. While much of my heart resides in Point Arena, California (home of the Point Arena Mountain Beaver, an amazing lighthouse, a great theater, my favorite bakery, and kookiness galore) I am moving on.
*raises glass to the next adventure!*
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Numbers 6, 5 and 4
SO. Things to do before I leave California #'s 6, 5 & 4 are all related to clothes. Yup. You heard me. Clothes. (I know, I'm normally not big on them)
#6: accept 'the Point Arena look' as a necessity, not a fashion statement. And then make it your own fashion statement.
This may sound weird to the non-initiated, but this is a true thing. By 'the Point Arena look' I mean: Sweater/sweatshirt over a tank top/T-shirt, skirt, leggings (in the winter), and Uggs (year round). Why? Because it is freezing here on the coast in a perma-50 degree sort of way. Up on the ridge (where many people live) it gets hot and you need to be able to go summery in a quick minute (see #5). But the Ugg thing is not because of how they look - it's because they're the best thing for quick summer footwear conversion as you don't need socks.
At first you resist this look and chalk it up to people living in a rural setting for too long, blah blah blah, but then you realize they have something and you're only truly comfortable when you embrace it.
#5: rig up your car to carry almost as many clothes as you have in your bedroom.
Oh yeah. I learned this one quick. There are SO MANY micro climates in California - especially coastal California, that every time you get out of your car it's practically a different season.
Example: it'll be 65 degrees and sunny at my house, 90 degrees and sweltering at my friend's house, and then 50 degrees and foggy in town. So you have to be able to get appropriately dressed before you get out of the car. Very important.
#4: realize that going to the beach means you dress up, not down.
Seriously one of my favorite things to do in SF is to look at all the tourists walking across the Golden Gate Bridge in July in tank tops. In 50 degree fog. I find it slightly hilarious (I know, I'm mean). The smart ones buy San Francisco sweatshirts at the conveniently located gift shop in the GGB parking lot...
No - in all seriousness, the beach is one of the coldest places you can go to in the summer. Gorgeous. But cold.
True story: I happened to go to the beach in July once and got sunburned. Upon returning to town, people kept coming up to me and asking me where I had gotten so much sun. When I replied "the beach", they asked which one. When I said the local beach, no one believed me. It's that strange for it to be hot at the beach here in the summer.
And as I write this, it's 51 degrees outside. and in my house. *sigh* I love coastal California!
#6: accept 'the Point Arena look' as a necessity, not a fashion statement. And then make it your own fashion statement.
This may sound weird to the non-initiated, but this is a true thing. By 'the Point Arena look' I mean: Sweater/sweatshirt over a tank top/T-shirt, skirt, leggings (in the winter), and Uggs (year round). Why? Because it is freezing here on the coast in a perma-50 degree sort of way. Up on the ridge (where many people live) it gets hot and you need to be able to go summery in a quick minute (see #5). But the Ugg thing is not because of how they look - it's because they're the best thing for quick summer footwear conversion as you don't need socks.
At first you resist this look and chalk it up to people living in a rural setting for too long, blah blah blah, but then you realize they have something and you're only truly comfortable when you embrace it.
#5: rig up your car to carry almost as many clothes as you have in your bedroom.
Oh yeah. I learned this one quick. There are SO MANY micro climates in California - especially coastal California, that every time you get out of your car it's practically a different season.
Example: it'll be 65 degrees and sunny at my house, 90 degrees and sweltering at my friend's house, and then 50 degrees and foggy in town. So you have to be able to get appropriately dressed before you get out of the car. Very important.
#4: realize that going to the beach means you dress up, not down.
Seriously one of my favorite things to do in SF is to look at all the tourists walking across the Golden Gate Bridge in July in tank tops. In 50 degree fog. I find it slightly hilarious (I know, I'm mean). The smart ones buy San Francisco sweatshirts at the conveniently located gift shop in the GGB parking lot...
No - in all seriousness, the beach is one of the coldest places you can go to in the summer. Gorgeous. But cold.
True story: I happened to go to the beach in July once and got sunburned. Upon returning to town, people kept coming up to me and asking me where I had gotten so much sun. When I replied "the beach", they asked which one. When I said the local beach, no one believed me. It's that strange for it to be hot at the beach here in the summer.
And as I write this, it's 51 degrees outside. and in my house. *sigh* I love coastal California!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
#7
Things to do before I leave California #7: Figure out what the hell kind of flower this is:
Over the past 8 years I have asked everyone I know AND have even gone so far as to post a pic on a few forums....to no avail. It seems to be the general consensus that the flower is so common to these woods up here no one really talks about it, hence no labelling. If any part of the plant were edible, it might be a different story, but....
Here's another hint:
As I was sitting at my moving sale talking to my landlady (rather I was talking to the huckleberry bushes - she was completely enmeshed in them picking berries....), she off-handedly mentioned that they were Clintonia (a beaded lilly). In a millisecond, all was solved. Err. Rather after I wikipedia'd it on my iPhone with one bar of reception it was found to be a specific kind of Clintonia. Woot!
Turns out I had seen the east coast version (white to light yellow flowers) a bunch, but never saw them make beads and so didn't make the connection..... mystery solved!
Over the past 8 years I have asked everyone I know AND have even gone so far as to post a pic on a few forums....to no avail. It seems to be the general consensus that the flower is so common to these woods up here no one really talks about it, hence no labelling. If any part of the plant were edible, it might be a different story, but....
Here's another hint:
As I was sitting at my moving sale talking to my landlady (rather I was talking to the huckleberry bushes - she was completely enmeshed in them picking berries....), she off-handedly mentioned that they were Clintonia (a beaded lilly). In a millisecond, all was solved. Err. Rather after I wikipedia'd it on my iPhone with one bar of reception it was found to be a specific kind of Clintonia. Woot!
Turns out I had seen the east coast version (white to light yellow flowers) a bunch, but never saw them make beads and so didn't make the connection..... mystery solved!
Friday, August 13, 2010
#8
Things to do before I leave California #8: savor (once again, and for the last time for a long time, an It's-It)
What you can't see from the picture is that the plastic is also potentially vintage
I had a great dinner last night with a good friend of mine - and I belatedly remembered that he had bought me an It's-It.
Oatmeal cinnamony cookie, vanilla ice cream, the thinnest layer of chocolate....
Sooooo gooooood.....
OMG. One of my favorite things ever. Savored. Just the perfect thing.
#8 has been crossed off my list. (Sorry we forgot about them B!)
What you can't see from the picture is that the plastic is also potentially vintage
I had a great dinner last night with a good friend of mine - and I belatedly remembered that he had bought me an It's-It.
Oatmeal cinnamony cookie, vanilla ice cream, the thinnest layer of chocolate....
Sooooo gooooood.....
OMG. One of my favorite things ever. Savored. Just the perfect thing.
#8 has been crossed off my list. (Sorry we forgot about them B!)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Glorious Thistle
I am embarrassed to admit that I had never seen an artichoke in bloom. As much as I love eating artichokes, and as often as I ave seen thistles in bloom, I wasn't prepared for this:
Isn't that the most impressive flower you've ever seen?
Things to do before I leave California: #9 has been crossed off the list.
Isn't that the most impressive flower you've ever seen?
Things to do before I leave California: #9 has been crossed off the list.
Mmmm. Cake?
OK. So the cake for the best cake decorator ever didn't come out the way I wanted it to. AT ALL. So much so that I didn't take any pictures of it...I was too busy waiting for one of the individual cakes to fall over..... the irritating things is I totally know how I could have made it work sturcturally as well, but I just didn't have the time. Especially since I was trying to pack and make the cake at the same time..... anyhoo. Some pictures. (I stole the last two from P. Thanks P!)
The best part of the process? Instead of using rolled fondant (sometimes I buy it, sometimes I make it...), this time I made marshmallow fondant. I got tired of eating cake that you had to peel massive layers of crap off of - like your cake is trapped in some sort of clay wrap. Marchmallow fondant is actually damn tasty. I wanted to use up a bag of marshmallows left over from camping with my friend and her family, but I don't know that I'll go back to rolled fondant.
Patiently waiting for the rest to get painted - the least time consuming part of the whole process! The front 3 did not make it on the final cake, and are still sitting downstairs. (I don't actually *like* cake much...)
Assembling the cake.
Back away slooooooooowly......
The best part of the process? Instead of using rolled fondant (sometimes I buy it, sometimes I make it...), this time I made marshmallow fondant. I got tired of eating cake that you had to peel massive layers of crap off of - like your cake is trapped in some sort of clay wrap. Marchmallow fondant is actually damn tasty. I wanted to use up a bag of marshmallows left over from camping with my friend and her family, but I don't know that I'll go back to rolled fondant.
Patiently waiting for the rest to get painted - the least time consuming part of the whole process! The front 3 did not make it on the final cake, and are still sitting downstairs. (I don't actually *like* cake much...)
Assembling the cake.
Back away slooooooooowly......
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Waiting....
I'm not good at waiting. At all. But it turns out that I can't participate in the first part of today's birthday festivities in Guerneville, due to an unforeseen porcine related accident. Which is really just a romantic way of my saying that I stepped on a shard of pork bone my dog left in the middle of the floor at 1am, and long story short, ended up going to the Dr with a football-sized foot at 5am. It's a disappointingly small wound for the amount of trouble and pain it has caused. I can't wait to drive Jenner Grade left footed. Woot!
So now I have to wait for the boat-related activities finish and meet up for more funness later.
But that's OK. I have company. My cute little cakes are quietly waiting with me from the protection of the magical fridge (which is magical, btw, no more graininess in my buttercream. Yaay!). I made all 12 from the original painting, but only 9 will fit on the cake. Umm. Poor planning on my part. Whoops. Then again there is SO MUCH CAKE. Holy shmoly. We'll see which ones make the cut!
So now I have to wait for the boat-related activities finish and meet up for more funness later.
Sneak preview. Hehe.
But that's OK. I have company. My cute little cakes are quietly waiting with me from the protection of the magical fridge (which is magical, btw, no more graininess in my buttercream. Yaay!). I made all 12 from the original painting, but only 9 will fit on the cake. Umm. Poor planning on my part. Whoops. Then again there is SO MUCH CAKE. Holy shmoly. We'll see which ones make the cut!
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Not. Stressing. Out.
Soo.... last night I made the components for the as-of-yet un-designed birthday cake for my fabulous baker friend. For some reason I used a new buttercream recipe, and it was slightly grainy when I last checked. I used the Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe from Confetti Cakes (a fun book!), and I just don't think I got the eggwhites hot enough. I thought they were, but evidently not. As this recipe uses granulated sugar instead of confectioner's sugar, you can tell when it's not dissolved.
HOWEVER.
I firmly believe that I have a magical refrigerator.
I mean come on! Look at it! If you were grainy sugar and you were placed in that fridge, don't you think the laws of physics would cease to exist and you would come out all creamy and smooth?!?!
Fingers crossed. She's gonna get an awesome cake if I have to make 10 trying. As a cook in a restaurant NO ONE would cook for me, and that kind of thing sucks. As I'm one of the few people gutsy enough (or dumb enough. Haven't figured that one out yet) to try to make one for her, I'm gonna pull it off. I have 25 hours before I leave my house for her shindig.
**channeling inner magician/stubborn baker** Here we go!
HOWEVER.
I firmly believe that I have a magical refrigerator.
I mean come on! Look at it! If you were grainy sugar and you were placed in that fridge, don't you think the laws of physics would cease to exist and you would come out all creamy and smooth?!?!
Fingers crossed. She's gonna get an awesome cake if I have to make 10 trying. As a cook in a restaurant NO ONE would cook for me, and that kind of thing sucks. As I'm one of the few people gutsy enough (or dumb enough. Haven't figured that one out yet) to try to make one for her, I'm gonna pull it off. I have 25 hours before I leave my house for her shindig.
**channeling inner magician/stubborn baker** Here we go!
Friday, August 06, 2010
Inspiration
Inspiration comes in many many forms, it seems. I LOVE making cakes, and every year I make a cake for my good friend. The thing is, she is an AMAZING cake decorator, and on top of running the local bakery, she does custom cakes as well. It seems that I am the only one with either 1) big enough balls, or 2) enough stupidity to attempt to do one for her. Yeah. Intimidating.
Anyway - every year she makes me one, too, as we both have our birthdays in August. Since I'm leaving town at the end of the month and have a lot on my plate on that score, we scrapped the 'surprise' element and actually talked about what kind of cakes we both wanted. She told me she wanted a cake inspired by Wayne Thiebaud. After looking through a bunch of images online of his, I am overly inspired. There are literally 10 cake ideas in my head. Unfortunately I'm short on time (due to being sick the past couple of days), and I'm not a good painter. Last year I had an amazing artist friend help with sculpting the cake topper, and she's an amazing painter as well, but as she lives in Watsonville now I'm on my own. Eep.
For those of you who don't know or don't remember last year's cake, here it is:
And a close up of the details:
I think for this year's cake I'm gonna narrow it down to my favorite 2 ideas and do them simultaneously. She'll get whichever one comes out better. Stay tuned!
Anyway - every year she makes me one, too, as we both have our birthdays in August. Since I'm leaving town at the end of the month and have a lot on my plate on that score, we scrapped the 'surprise' element and actually talked about what kind of cakes we both wanted. She told me she wanted a cake inspired by Wayne Thiebaud. After looking through a bunch of images online of his, I am overly inspired. There are literally 10 cake ideas in my head. Unfortunately I'm short on time (due to being sick the past couple of days), and I'm not a good painter. Last year I had an amazing artist friend help with sculpting the cake topper, and she's an amazing painter as well, but as she lives in Watsonville now I'm on my own. Eep.
For those of you who don't know or don't remember last year's cake, here it is:
And a close up of the details:
Name of cake: The Dead Chick Cake (she got bitten by a vampire, you see.....)
I think for this year's cake I'm gonna narrow it down to my favorite 2 ideas and do them simultaneously. She'll get whichever one comes out better. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Let them have MEAT!
This is awesome. As in 'whoopty frigging doo' awesome. I know a LOT of people on really odd food trips and whatnot. (I do live in northern California, after all....) While I know some Vegans and Vegetarians that do alright, for some reason the craziest and most unstable people I know have the most dietary restrictions. And sorry - I don't know a single raw foodie that doesn't just seem malnourished in a way.... so aha! I knew it! Suck it!
And I knew there was a reason why the smartest person I know and the person that consumes the most meat that I know are one and the same (Hi Dad!! JK. He doesn't read this blog).
And I knew there was a reason why the smartest person I know and the person that consumes the most meat that I know are one and the same (Hi Dad!! JK. He doesn't read this blog).
Play Those Blues Away
I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with a few of My Best Friends (only one of whom lives here in town) and my friend's family. By 'family' I'm mostly talking about her nieces - ages 12, 9 & 4 (or close enough to those ages anyway, they all seem to have summer birthdays). I've been insanely distressed and just a bit blue these days with the impending (as of yet details unknown) move. Hanging out with My Best Friends would have surely been enough to create a great respite from those blues, but hanging out with the kids lifted them in a more permanent way.I had forgotten.
Living up here in crazy alterna-world, there are literally children everywhere. But they have a tendency to run in packs, and are - for better or for worse - mostly treated the same way as adults (hence all the infantile drama among the adults, IMHO, but that's a whole nother issue...), and don't *play* like kids with those of us who are a bit older.
These girls are not like that.
We went to the park to feed the ducks (and very loud geese). Who among us remember the joy of chucking chunks of bread into a pond without a bit of prodding? Feeding of the fowl led to an impromptu outdoor concert on the stage in the amphitheater in the redwood grove of some Journey, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and a stunning rendition of 'Part of Your World' (of Little Mermaid fame). At the top of ALL of our lungs. And there was diva dancing. Whoa.
And that was just part of one day out of 5 I spent with those kiddlywinks (dude. There was kayaking). A huge thanks to M, V & N!!!! (who don't read this blog. Granted one can't read at all. Yet.)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Start 'em young
I LOVE seeing things like this. I love seeing younger kids carrying on in the name of agriculture and raw milk. Kind of makes me want to get involved in 4H. Kind of (that and that scene from Napolean Dynamite).
The blog the story is posted on is run by a great company that I buy cheese making supplies from - and they have a whole series of interviews with home cheesemakers.
Related link: here
The blog the story is posted on is run by a great company that I buy cheese making supplies from - and they have a whole series of interviews with home cheesemakers.
Related link: here
Sunday, July 25, 2010
"Back of the Box" is moving!!
My other blog (the fun food one!) is moving. I'm changing hosts also, so if you are subscribed via email or RSS you'll (unfortunately) need to do that again. The new address is (drumroll, please!):
backofthebox.net
It won't move again, and so sorry for the incovnveinence (my one reader - Hi Mom!!). Better now than later, IMHO.
Still cleaning up some of the wonky things that happened during the transfer - bear with me, I have dialup. It's up and running at the moment, but may take up to 3 days for all to be able to view it. But if you can't see it now, you will!
yay!
Still cleaning up some of the wonky things that happened during the transfer - bear with me, I have dialup. It's up and running at the moment, but may take up to 3 days for all to be able to view it. But if you can't see it now, you will!
yay!
Top 10 Things To Do Before Leaving California - #10
OK. I don't *really* have a list written down and hidden off somewhere, BUT IF I DID - this would be on it, and lower down than you'd think.
Top 10 Things To Do Before Leaving California - #10: Tell off a mid-life crisis asshat in a high performance sports car.
I get it. Highway One is scary. It has curves. It has hills. It has curvy hills, and hilly curves. It takes a long time to get anywhere, but goddamnit it's gorgeous and it's even more gorgeous seen from the window of a car driving the appropriate speed. For me this is in the 57 - 63mph range.
For this guy I was stuck behind yesterday, it was 30. In a Lamborghini. I have often had this thought, but seriously - if you're going to buy a high-performance car, I think it's a shame to not drive it as such. And unfortunately I come across these types of mid-life crisis asshats all the time. They buy these amazing and amazingly expensive cars and then take them for day rides on Highway One, most probably full of some sort of romantic notion of roaring up and down the coast a la James Bond. Except they don't roar, they crawl, and locals like me get stuck behind them when all we want to do is go home. 60 miles later this guy wouldn't use any of the turnouts - my tailgating be damned, apparently - and there must have been 20 cars behind this guy. Had I been that car I would have developed seriously suicidal tendencies and taken over. Kind of like Herbie, but Italian. And not annoying. But I digress.
At Stewarts Point there was an accident blocking the road. We all came to a stop and asshat got out of his car and came up and tapped on my window and asked me to stop tailgating him. I suppressed my rage at his blatant asshattery as much as I could and responded with "you had the balls to write the check, but you don't have the balls to drive the car?"
#10 doth been checked off the list.
Top 10 Things To Do Before Leaving California - #10: Tell off a mid-life crisis asshat in a high performance sports car.
I get it. Highway One is scary. It has curves. It has hills. It has curvy hills, and hilly curves. It takes a long time to get anywhere, but goddamnit it's gorgeous and it's even more gorgeous seen from the window of a car driving the appropriate speed. For me this is in the 57 - 63mph range.
For this guy I was stuck behind yesterday, it was 30. In a Lamborghini. I have often had this thought, but seriously - if you're going to buy a high-performance car, I think it's a shame to not drive it as such. And unfortunately I come across these types of mid-life crisis asshats all the time. They buy these amazing and amazingly expensive cars and then take them for day rides on Highway One, most probably full of some sort of romantic notion of roaring up and down the coast a la James Bond. Except they don't roar, they crawl, and locals like me get stuck behind them when all we want to do is go home. 60 miles later this guy wouldn't use any of the turnouts - my tailgating be damned, apparently - and there must have been 20 cars behind this guy. Had I been that car I would have developed seriously suicidal tendencies and taken over. Kind of like Herbie, but Italian. And not annoying. But I digress.
At Stewarts Point there was an accident blocking the road. We all came to a stop and asshat got out of his car and came up and tapped on my window and asked me to stop tailgating him. I suppressed my rage at his blatant asshattery as much as I could and responded with "you had the balls to write the check, but you don't have the balls to drive the car?"
#10 doth been checked off the list.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Sweet, sweet relief
Soo.... came across this today in my daily perusal of the interwebs. As I'm leaving California, I am excited about having found this.
OK. Nix that. The closest In-n-Out burger is almost 2 hours from here, so I'm happy to find this in general.
If you don't live in California, you will not understand the In-N-Out phenomenon. The best way I can think of to debunk it for you is just to tell you: In-N-Out is awesome*. And finding this website** means that if I am ever ever EVER seriously craving an In-N-Out burger, I can make it happen. In the comfort of my own kitchen. In my PJ's. With beer.
And the next time you see that iconic sign, go in and order a double double animal style for me. Thanks!
*also home of California's first drive-thru. 'Nuff said.
**dude. He used math to figure out the sauce on this burger. Another example of how I would have *liked* math if this sort of problem had been involved in my math classes in school. And the scientific way in which he deduced the amount of relish!
OK. Nix that. The closest In-n-Out burger is almost 2 hours from here, so I'm happy to find this in general.
If you don't live in California, you will not understand the In-N-Out phenomenon. The best way I can think of to debunk it for you is just to tell you: In-N-Out is awesome*. And finding this website** means that if I am ever ever EVER seriously craving an In-N-Out burger, I can make it happen. In the comfort of my own kitchen. In my PJ's. With beer.
And the next time you see that iconic sign, go in and order a double double animal style for me. Thanks!
*also home of California's first drive-thru. 'Nuff said.
**dude. He used math to figure out the sauce on this burger. Another example of how I would have *liked* math if this sort of problem had been involved in my math classes in school. And the scientific way in which he deduced the amount of relish!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Holy Cow!
There was a knock at more door today. And there was my good friend standing at my door holding a gallon of milk fresh from the cow. In fact I think I freaked out and held the warm container to my face in sheer delight.
Yup.
She had actually called me earlier to go milk a cow at a friend of hers, but unfortunately I was already enmeshed in the making of rice pudding and bread and couldn't get away.... but her showing up with the warm milk was still a surprise, and I was blown away.
Recently I have been making Mozzarella cheese from scratch - if it weren't for the fact that I am leaving in the next month, I would be attempting some hard cultured cheeses, but alas I do not have the aging time.... Mozzarella is a great compromise - you can still get the funness that comes from making cheese, without having to wait, and without having to use molds, cultures, etc....
Raw milk from a cow is a whole different ballgame. This may seem like an obvious statement, but even though I was expecting it, it still blew my mind. At one point during the cheese making process, according to the book I use* "the curds will look like thick yogurt and have a bit of shine to them". So far my reaction to this step has been along the lines of "yeah. Right. Dude. It looks like watery cottage cheese. What kind of fucking yogurt do you eat?". But my Mozzarella has always come out just fine and still above and beyond the majority of the Mozzarella you can get in the store.
Now. I love the milk I get here, but sorry Clo - I don't know that I can make cheese again without getting raw milk. Holy shmoly. Not only did the curds actually look like think yogurt and her description was accurate, it produced cheese that is awesome. I did overwork it just a wee bit in the kneading process and so it came out a bit tougher than usual, but I just think that really showcased the higher protein content and the higher viability of the protein. The stuff came together and got all silky and smooth almost immediately, and that just wasn't something I was used to. Even though I buy Organic whole milk to make cheese with, the difference between the milks was just mind-blowing. I love it when the difference in what you make and what you buy is so readily apparent. If only I had some little kid standing in the kitchen with me for brain-washing purposes!
I apologize to my new bovine friend for overworking the milk, and I won't ever do that again. Promise. Keep the yummy raw milk coming.
UPDATE: I made Ricotta from the whey, as I am wont to do. It is literally so so sweet (no sugar or anything is added, minded you. Just vinegar and salt) - I have never eaten anything like it. So I may have *slightly* bungled the texture of the actual Mozzarella on my first time out with raw milk, but the Ricotta was heavenly.
*This is, by the way, the BEST home cheese making book out there. Just FYI. She also runs the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company - and they have EVERYTHING you need to make just about every kind of cheese you can think of.
Yup.
She had actually called me earlier to go milk a cow at a friend of hers, but unfortunately I was already enmeshed in the making of rice pudding and bread and couldn't get away.... but her showing up with the warm milk was still a surprise, and I was blown away.
Recently I have been making Mozzarella cheese from scratch - if it weren't for the fact that I am leaving in the next month, I would be attempting some hard cultured cheeses, but alas I do not have the aging time.... Mozzarella is a great compromise - you can still get the funness that comes from making cheese, without having to wait, and without having to use molds, cultures, etc....
Raw milk from a cow is a whole different ballgame. This may seem like an obvious statement, but even though I was expecting it, it still blew my mind. At one point during the cheese making process, according to the book I use* "the curds will look like thick yogurt and have a bit of shine to them". So far my reaction to this step has been along the lines of "yeah. Right. Dude. It looks like watery cottage cheese. What kind of fucking yogurt do you eat?". But my Mozzarella has always come out just fine and still above and beyond the majority of the Mozzarella you can get in the store.
Now. I love the milk I get here, but sorry Clo - I don't know that I can make cheese again without getting raw milk. Holy shmoly. Not only did the curds actually look like think yogurt and her description was accurate, it produced cheese that is awesome. I did overwork it just a wee bit in the kneading process and so it came out a bit tougher than usual, but I just think that really showcased the higher protein content and the higher viability of the protein. The stuff came together and got all silky and smooth almost immediately, and that just wasn't something I was used to. Even though I buy Organic whole milk to make cheese with, the difference between the milks was just mind-blowing. I love it when the difference in what you make and what you buy is so readily apparent. If only I had some little kid standing in the kitchen with me for brain-washing purposes!
I apologize to my new bovine friend for overworking the milk, and I won't ever do that again. Promise. Keep the yummy raw milk coming.
UPDATE: I made Ricotta from the whey, as I am wont to do. It is literally so so sweet (no sugar or anything is added, minded you. Just vinegar and salt) - I have never eaten anything like it. So I may have *slightly* bungled the texture of the actual Mozzarella on my first time out with raw milk, but the Ricotta was heavenly.
*This is, by the way, the BEST home cheese making book out there. Just FYI. She also runs the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company - and they have EVERYTHING you need to make just about every kind of cheese you can think of.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Self-sustainability and us
I had a couple of interesting revelations the day before yesterday....
A Japanese family that I was very close to in High School happened to have a day in Berkeley and I went to see them. I hadn't seen them in 9 years, or since the last time I was in Japan, and that's even more unfortunate as they used to be such a huge part of my life. Anyway - we were talking about my moving to North Carolina and homesteading on my parents' property, and the whole sustainability issue, etc. I went on my normal rant about eco-friendly practices, etc (why I think growing your own veggies at the very least is greener than not driving your car....a whole big long discussion). She asked me what other things I do to be 'green' other than growing as much as my own food as possible, especially as where I am now gets close to no sun and I have to supplement the light in my outdoor garden with lights. I answered with the fact that I have a paperless kitchen, and an almost paperless household. She kind of stared at me blankly - and then quite matter of factly asked me how else my kitchen would be? I then remembered that a paperless kitchen in Japan is the norm. Even with the Japanese tendency to deep fry things, paper towels in the kitchen are pretty much unheard of (some housewives buy special non-waxed absorbent paper for deep frying, but most people just use news print...). Using and reusing cloth is the norm. This also extends to household cleaning - windows are cleaned with cloth or old newspaper, and floors etc, are cleaned with cloths that are washed and reused..... And it's amazing how these practices got leeched right out of me when I came back to the US and proceeded to assimilate back into western society.....
I had a second realization at the same time - I was searching for the Japanese version of the term 'self-sustained'. I couldn't for the life of me think of it, and was obviously stumbling. That in of itself was an oddity as I'm not a huge fan of the term in English.... I finally just had to admit I didn't know the word and went about just explaining my meaning. At which point the person I was talking to just supplied to phrase for me. The thing is - in Japanese it's such an old word that people of my age don't often know it, but it is ingrained in the culture and the language of Japan. It just illuminated the fact that we in the west have so completely grown away from self-sustainability (even though in the not-so-distant past homesteading and growing all your own consumables was the norm....) and have had to come up with a term fairly recently to describe such a seemingly foreign concept. In Japan, however, the concept is still on the forefront of people's minds enough that the term was never completely lost - perhaps from being closed off to the world for several hundred years? I don't know, but it was another one of the sociolinguistic things that just kind of smacked me in the face.
I wonder how many more of these concepts are lurking back in the habits I grew up with in Japan?
A Japanese family that I was very close to in High School happened to have a day in Berkeley and I went to see them. I hadn't seen them in 9 years, or since the last time I was in Japan, and that's even more unfortunate as they used to be such a huge part of my life. Anyway - we were talking about my moving to North Carolina and homesteading on my parents' property, and the whole sustainability issue, etc. I went on my normal rant about eco-friendly practices, etc (why I think growing your own veggies at the very least is greener than not driving your car....a whole big long discussion). She asked me what other things I do to be 'green' other than growing as much as my own food as possible, especially as where I am now gets close to no sun and I have to supplement the light in my outdoor garden with lights. I answered with the fact that I have a paperless kitchen, and an almost paperless household. She kind of stared at me blankly - and then quite matter of factly asked me how else my kitchen would be? I then remembered that a paperless kitchen in Japan is the norm. Even with the Japanese tendency to deep fry things, paper towels in the kitchen are pretty much unheard of (some housewives buy special non-waxed absorbent paper for deep frying, but most people just use news print...). Using and reusing cloth is the norm. This also extends to household cleaning - windows are cleaned with cloth or old newspaper, and floors etc, are cleaned with cloths that are washed and reused..... And it's amazing how these practices got leeched right out of me when I came back to the US and proceeded to assimilate back into western society.....
I had a second realization at the same time - I was searching for the Japanese version of the term 'self-sustained'. I couldn't for the life of me think of it, and was obviously stumbling. That in of itself was an oddity as I'm not a huge fan of the term in English.... I finally just had to admit I didn't know the word and went about just explaining my meaning. At which point the person I was talking to just supplied to phrase for me. The thing is - in Japanese it's such an old word that people of my age don't often know it, but it is ingrained in the culture and the language of Japan. It just illuminated the fact that we in the west have so completely grown away from self-sustainability (even though in the not-so-distant past homesteading and growing all your own consumables was the norm....) and have had to come up with a term fairly recently to describe such a seemingly foreign concept. In Japan, however, the concept is still on the forefront of people's minds enough that the term was never completely lost - perhaps from being closed off to the world for several hundred years? I don't know, but it was another one of the sociolinguistic things that just kind of smacked me in the face.
I wonder how many more of these concepts are lurking back in the habits I grew up with in Japan?
Friday, July 16, 2010
Share!
I think that this is a truly fabulous idea - and if I weren't moving next month I would participate. Ugh - and just think. If all of those ridiculous chain mails/emails you got as a kid were this eco-friendly (not to mention fun), the world might be a slightly greener place.
http://www.earthmama101.com/2010/07/lets-share-seeds-2010-seed-share.html
http://www.earthmama101.com/2010/07/lets-share-seeds-2010-seed-share.html
Friday, March 06, 2009
history of THAT cookie!
OK. I love food. I love food history. I love vintage cookbooks.
But how do I feel about this? I'm not so sure. While I would love to know where the hell we got some of the food we eat, and I would be happy to tell you how Campbell's cream of mushroom soup became a staple in 'American' cooking (but only if you have an hour), this is a scooch over the top, me thinks.
http://justinsomnia.org/2009/01/melt-in-the-mouth-cookies-a-brief-history/
But how do I feel about this? I'm not so sure. While I would love to know where the hell we got some of the food we eat, and I would be happy to tell you how Campbell's cream of mushroom soup became a staple in 'American' cooking (but only if you have an hour), this is a scooch over the top, me thinks.
http://justinsomnia.org/2009/01/melt-in-the-mouth-cookies-a-brief-history/
OED Word of the day
Today's word of the day from The Oxford English Dictionary: "purvey"
I worked in the food industry for 5 years before I learned it was spelled 'purveyor'. I thought it was 'proveyer'. As in provide. But I never had enough confidence so I just used used 'vendor'.
I worked in the food industry for 5 years before I learned it was spelled 'purveyor'. I thought it was 'proveyer'. As in provide. But I never had enough confidence so I just used used 'vendor'.
Monday, March 02, 2009
If only my writing were legible...
This would be so cool - but only if I could read my own writing :)
http://www.fontifier.com/
http://www.fontifier.com/
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I'm Back!!
In an effort to do a few things (conveniently listed below), I have decided to put more of an effort back into this blog.
I intend to:
I intend to:
- stop spamming my mom (as well as others) and filling up their inboxes with weird random stuff
- write more (I love it!)
- do something more productive with the endless hours I spend sitting in front of a computer (... after a long day at work also sitting in front of a computer. something is not right here)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
new faves, new phone
As it has been quite an odd time for me in my personal life, I am noticing some changes...
For one thing - I am addicted to the dehydrated strawberries from Trader Joe's. For a long time it was the mangoes, but now it is most definitely the strawberries. It's as if you purchased a box of overpriced healthy fruity cereal of some kind, and picked out all the strawberries and put them in a bag. It's wonderful. It may be the fact that I dump them in a bowl of Tapioca pudding (also courtesy of TJ's). I think for my next trick I'm going to mix them in the pudding and then freeze the whole thing....
And! I'm getting the new iPhone!! Yay!! July 11th can't come soon enough... GPS, iPod, phone, email, internet bliss here I come!
For one thing - I am addicted to the dehydrated strawberries from Trader Joe's. For a long time it was the mangoes, but now it is most definitely the strawberries. It's as if you purchased a box of overpriced healthy fruity cereal of some kind, and picked out all the strawberries and put them in a bag. It's wonderful. It may be the fact that I dump them in a bowl of Tapioca pudding (also courtesy of TJ's). I think for my next trick I'm going to mix them in the pudding and then freeze the whole thing....
And! I'm getting the new iPhone!! Yay!! July 11th can't come soon enough... GPS, iPod, phone, email, internet bliss here I come!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
My Life as a Musical
Not sure why, but my life is a bit of a musical at the moment. I was recently introduced to possibly (as my friend 'The Pants' puts it) THE BEST guerrilla-style indie musical EVER. While you may or may not have heard of Colma (the place or the movie - like how I did that?), I can not get the catching tunes out of my head and I absolutely adore it.
To top that, I was listening to NPR on the way home from work yesterday, and the Swell Season were being interviewed on Fresh Air. Which made me remember another current favorite movie of mine : Once.
Oh so very very good.
To top that, I was listening to NPR on the way home from work yesterday, and the Swell Season were being interviewed on Fresh Air. Which made me remember another current favorite movie of mine : Once.
Oh so very very good.
Friday, April 11, 2008
**OUCH**
Yes - that is the sound of me filing my taxes. While it may seem like pennies to some, I owed the government $1300. Which I just paid. I am seriously wondering how I am going to eat until payday...
On February 13th, 2008, our glorious government passed an economic stimulus package to 'stimulate' the economy. I believe the exact words were 'to give it a shot in the arm'. Does that metaphor sound odd to anyone else? As if the people passing it have a frightening familiarity with intravenous substances? Anyway, I filed my taxes today and found out that lo and behold! (all rise Hoyt Axton fans!) I qualify for the full $600 rebate provided in this package.
The point of this stimulus package is to give people 'free money' that's not taxable that they will go out and spend, therefore boosting the economy. I get why it's a cash rebate, and not a tax credit. BUT - what if the fact that I just practically cleared out my checking account to pay the taxes makes me unable to pay for food and therefore starve to death before I get that check? OR what if I have to go in to debt to survive until I get the check and I end up relying on the government for help in the meantime? Wouldn't have just made more sense (and be cheaper, too) to give a break on taxes? If I didn't have to pay so much in taxes, I'd be much freer to go out and spend money and **gasp!** boost the economy!
Somehow I know Bush is to blame....
oh yeah - I'm getting taxed to pay for the war in Iraq, and not basic government provided services. That then mean there are a lot more people unable to get what they need, and the become reliant on what few government services are still available to them. Which then means that I pay more in taxes to support them. which means......
And thus I have become one of those ranting people.
And wait! Don't my taxes pay for he economic stimulus package? Or did they get private investors for that?
On February 13th, 2008, our glorious government passed an economic stimulus package to 'stimulate' the economy. I believe the exact words were 'to give it a shot in the arm'. Does that metaphor sound odd to anyone else? As if the people passing it have a frightening familiarity with intravenous substances? Anyway, I filed my taxes today and found out that lo and behold! (all rise Hoyt Axton fans!) I qualify for the full $600 rebate provided in this package.
The point of this stimulus package is to give people 'free money' that's not taxable that they will go out and spend, therefore boosting the economy. I get why it's a cash rebate, and not a tax credit. BUT - what if the fact that I just practically cleared out my checking account to pay the taxes makes me unable to pay for food and therefore starve to death before I get that check? OR what if I have to go in to debt to survive until I get the check and I end up relying on the government for help in the meantime? Wouldn't have just made more sense (and be cheaper, too) to give a break on taxes? If I didn't have to pay so much in taxes, I'd be much freer to go out and spend money and **gasp!** boost the economy!
Somehow I know Bush is to blame....
oh yeah - I'm getting taxed to pay for the war in Iraq, and not basic government provided services. That then mean there are a lot more people unable to get what they need, and the become reliant on what few government services are still available to them. Which then means that I pay more in taxes to support them. which means......
And thus I have become one of those ranting people.
And wait! Don't my taxes pay for he economic stimulus package? Or did they get private investors for that?
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I have not posted in almost a year
It's very sad. I have not posted in almost a year. and so much has happened! Most importantly - my Doggie!! All hail the cuteness!!
And no, thaht is not my house that is trashed - it's a construction site :)
And the out at Fort Funston:
And no, thaht is not my house that is trashed - it's a construction site :)
And the out at Fort Funston:
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Bush, Homeland Security & Google Maps.
Hate is a strong word. Most people that I talk to frequently know why I use this word when describing a certain multi-billion dollar search engine company (never mind the hypocrisy involved in the fact that I use Blogger..).
Here's the latest reason: Google Maps.
For my job, I spend A LOT of time on Google maps helping people that work for us get to where they're going, helping the clients figure out where their events are, etc. They recently added a 'Street View' function for SF, Vegas, Denver, Miami, and NY. Since I really don't want the address of the company where I work for up here, I will not post the example, but when you search for the office on Google Maps, my car is parked right out front. And you can make out the license plate numbers. Need to know what a building downtown looks like so you can find it better (and addresses seem to be inadequate these days?). Throw up a picture. But what is the point of being able to zoom in on a residential street close enough so that you can make out the numbers on people's plates? What if I was washing the dishes naked? Or taking out the trash in clothes that are oh-so yesterday?
And why the hell are all of the Google employees (yes, they refer to themselves as 'Googlers') out front as the picture is being taken? Don't these people have Internet to police? Businesses to buy? Technology to take over? And who said you don't have to be evil to make money?
The bad news is some people like it (like these folks). The good news - some don't.
Here's the latest reason: Google Maps.
For my job, I spend A LOT of time on Google maps helping people that work for us get to where they're going, helping the clients figure out where their events are, etc. They recently added a 'Street View' function for SF, Vegas, Denver, Miami, and NY. Since I really don't want the address of the company where I work for up here, I will not post the example, but when you search for the office on Google Maps, my car is parked right out front. And you can make out the license plate numbers. Need to know what a building downtown looks like so you can find it better (and addresses seem to be inadequate these days?). Throw up a picture. But what is the point of being able to zoom in on a residential street close enough so that you can make out the numbers on people's plates? What if I was washing the dishes naked? Or taking out the trash in clothes that are oh-so yesterday?
And why the hell are all of the Google employees (yes, they refer to themselves as 'Googlers') out front as the picture is being taken? Don't these people have Internet to police? Businesses to buy? Technology to take over? And who said you don't have to be evil to make money?
The bad news is some people like it (like these folks). The good news - some don't.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Despicable
I work for a company that provides an employee benefits related service to corporations nationwide. We have one client that is HUGE and spends millions on various benefits for their employees nationwide. They are a multi-million? Billion? dollar company, and we are a small family-owned business (national as we may be...).
I had a meeting at their offices today. I went with one of my employers (one of the two owners). We walked in to an ambush that was absolutely despicable and ridiculous. Business may be business, but our contact at this company is downright unprofessional and a bully. If I had someone working for me that misrepresented my company in that way I would absolutely not allow it. I feel kind of dirty... Our contact their barely let my boss (the CEO of the company I work for) finish her sentances...
In my short time since college, I have tried really hard to work for businesses that were small, and had some sort of good thing to offer the world. After working at NTT in Japan for a stint, and suffering through my mom working there for a few years, I cam to the conclusion that life is just way to short to put yourself in a position where you are compromising your morals for the sake of a paycheck. And probably not even a great one, at that. Today's meeting completely reminded me of why I have taken that stance, and showed me that once again, the folks that I work for rock. We do what we can as a small company to get by in this day and extremely biased age, and not only do we strive to treat our clients well, we really try to treat the people working for us as employees and independent contractors, as well as our vendors with respect. And we respect their integrity.
I suppose there's the whole karma/what comes around goes around view of things, but I really hope our contact at this company gets their comeuppance. AGH!
I had a meeting at their offices today. I went with one of my employers (one of the two owners). We walked in to an ambush that was absolutely despicable and ridiculous. Business may be business, but our contact at this company is downright unprofessional and a bully. If I had someone working for me that misrepresented my company in that way I would absolutely not allow it. I feel kind of dirty... Our contact their barely let my boss (the CEO of the company I work for) finish her sentances...
In my short time since college, I have tried really hard to work for businesses that were small, and had some sort of good thing to offer the world. After working at NTT in Japan for a stint, and suffering through my mom working there for a few years, I cam to the conclusion that life is just way to short to put yourself in a position where you are compromising your morals for the sake of a paycheck. And probably not even a great one, at that. Today's meeting completely reminded me of why I have taken that stance, and showed me that once again, the folks that I work for rock. We do what we can as a small company to get by in this day and extremely biased age, and not only do we strive to treat our clients well, we really try to treat the people working for us as employees and independent contractors, as well as our vendors with respect. And we respect their integrity.
I suppose there's the whole karma/what comes around goes around view of things, but I really hope our contact at this company gets their comeuppance. AGH!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
HMM??
As you know, I have a (most of the time) hellish commute over the Bay Bridge every day. Today I got stuck behind a car that looked waaaaay worse than mine with an odd yellow bumper sticker on the back. While I am getting over the shock of seeing a crappier car than mine actually moving and being driven by some (poor crazy) soul, I realize that the bumper sticker says the following:
"My Other Vehicle is the Mahayana"
(For those of you unfamiliar, go here)
While staring at his dilapidated car (think hood and doors are different colors than each other or the main body of the car, the windshield is held in with duct tape, the antenna is a hanger, you get the idea...), I am realizing that while this guy is probably a very strong believer in the teachings of Buddhism, he's not doing a great service to it in terms of PR...
It just goes to show you that now matter how hard you try, and no matter how liberal minded your audience is (i.e., me), you can never escape being judged by the car you drive.
I gotta get me a new one.
"My Other Vehicle is the Mahayana"
(For those of you unfamiliar, go here)
While staring at his dilapidated car (think hood and doors are different colors than each other or the main body of the car, the windshield is held in with duct tape, the antenna is a hanger, you get the idea...), I am realizing that while this guy is probably a very strong believer in the teachings of Buddhism, he's not doing a great service to it in terms of PR...
It just goes to show you that now matter how hard you try, and no matter how liberal minded your audience is (i.e., me), you can never escape being judged by the car you drive.
I gotta get me a new one.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Embellishment
I realize that not everyone watches the food network, nor is nearly obsessed with food as I am. To help my mom understand why exactly Anthony Bourdain's post was so funny, I wrote an explanation of who the people he was talking about:
Alton Brown - wow geeky food science meets sesame street for adults TV show. But you DO actually learn shit.
Emeril - "kick it up a notch!!" involves adding salt and 'essence of Emeril' by throwing them vehemently AT the food. Preferably over your shoulder with a loud 'BANG!' and lots of flair and flourishing Why does 'essence of Emeril' sound like something I DON'T want to eat?
Mario Batali - I think this guy knows more about Italian food and the regions and food history of Italy better than anyone in the US, and possibly Italy, too. Fat red-head dude in shorts and clogs. And his fingers look like Vienna sausages.
Bobby Flay - what a load of horse shit in a guy. They've made a caricature out of guy by stylizing him into the tough-talking red head from Brooklyn who can cook.
Ace of Cakes Guy - aka Chef Duff. This dude is cool. He makes these designer cakes in these shapes that are totally outrageous. Like the one with the hand of rock coming out of a flames adorned with mini sock monkeys. And the cake in the shape of a Highland Yak for a Scottish Wedding (he wore a kilt and had a bag piper come in to the bakery for that one). The only show on the food network I would watch regularly if I could remember what time the show is on. And he uses power tools because the 'cake tools' don't cut it. Literally. He has a band saw in his bakery.
Giada - Italian-American hoochie mama who's hair never moves when she does, and who is Italian and uber-skinny.Not that there's anything wrong with skinny Italians, don't get me wrong. But she's like an anorexic baker - I just don't trust her. And she always has perfect nails, her wedding ring/engagement rock combo looks like it will break her finger, and her face looks painted on - it's scary.
Rachel Ray - the most annoying non-cook ever. If you don't know what she looks like, she's often on Triscuit and Ritz cracker boxes. Her first show on the food network was '30-minute meals'. Where she told everyone that you can put a delicious meal (???) on the table in under 30 minutes. What she doesn't tell you is that you would then have to eat the shit she calls food. And she has the most annoying nasal voice ever.
Paula Deen - Older portlier woman from Georgia. Southern cooking done by a white woman with big hair, a big heart, and a big laugh. Never-you-mind that the 3 potato casserole with sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, cream, mashed potatoes and potato chips and slices is not something I will be putting in my repertoire.
And that leaves us with Sandra Dee. Oh Sandra Dee. If Barbie were to meet a bone fide Nabisco brand Keebler elf with an endorsement from Satan, got drunk and spawned a mentally challenged child with aspirations to become the next Martha, that being MAY be comparable to Sandra Dee. Need a new cookie recipe to impress the neighbors? Buy store-bought sugar cookie dough (I always have some in my freezer, just in case!!) and roll in some crushed Hazelnuts! Et Voila~! Add a bow and it's the perfect welcome to the neighborhood gift! make sure that the apron you are surely actually wearing matches the drapes in your kitchen perfectly! Buy frozen food, microwave it yourself and call it home cooking! Shoot me! Shoot me now!
Not to sound pretentious, but it appalls me that these people make gazillions of dollars a year, and, more frighteningly, that people actually copy these people!
Alton Brown - wow geeky food science meets sesame street for adults TV show. But you DO actually learn shit.
Emeril - "kick it up a notch!!" involves adding salt and 'essence of Emeril' by throwing them vehemently AT the food. Preferably over your shoulder with a loud 'BANG!' and lots of flair and flourishing Why does 'essence of Emeril' sound like something I DON'T want to eat?
Mario Batali - I think this guy knows more about Italian food and the regions and food history of Italy better than anyone in the US, and possibly Italy, too. Fat red-head dude in shorts and clogs. And his fingers look like Vienna sausages.
Bobby Flay - what a load of horse shit in a guy. They've made a caricature out of guy by stylizing him into the tough-talking red head from Brooklyn who can cook.
Ace of Cakes Guy - aka Chef Duff. This dude is cool. He makes these designer cakes in these shapes that are totally outrageous. Like the one with the hand of rock coming out of a flames adorned with mini sock monkeys. And the cake in the shape of a Highland Yak for a Scottish Wedding (he wore a kilt and had a bag piper come in to the bakery for that one). The only show on the food network I would watch regularly if I could remember what time the show is on. And he uses power tools because the 'cake tools' don't cut it. Literally. He has a band saw in his bakery.
Giada - Italian-American hoochie mama who's hair never moves when she does, and who is Italian and uber-skinny.Not that there's anything wrong with skinny Italians, don't get me wrong. But she's like an anorexic baker - I just don't trust her. And she always has perfect nails, her wedding ring/engagement rock combo looks like it will break her finger, and her face looks painted on - it's scary.
Rachel Ray - the most annoying non-cook ever. If you don't know what she looks like, she's often on Triscuit and Ritz cracker boxes. Her first show on the food network was '30-minute meals'. Where she told everyone that you can put a delicious meal (???) on the table in under 30 minutes. What she doesn't tell you is that you would then have to eat the shit she calls food. And she has the most annoying nasal voice ever.
Paula Deen - Older portlier woman from Georgia. Southern cooking done by a white woman with big hair, a big heart, and a big laugh. Never-you-mind that the 3 potato casserole with sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, cream, mashed potatoes and potato chips and slices is not something I will be putting in my repertoire.
And that leaves us with Sandra Dee. Oh Sandra Dee. If Barbie were to meet a bone fide Nabisco brand Keebler elf with an endorsement from Satan, got drunk and spawned a mentally challenged child with aspirations to become the next Martha, that being MAY be comparable to Sandra Dee. Need a new cookie recipe to impress the neighbors? Buy store-bought sugar cookie dough (I always have some in my freezer, just in case!!) and roll in some crushed Hazelnuts! Et Voila~! Add a bow and it's the perfect welcome to the neighborhood gift! make sure that the apron you are surely actually wearing matches the drapes in your kitchen perfectly! Buy frozen food, microwave it yourself and call it home cooking! Shoot me! Shoot me now!
Not to sound pretentious, but it appalls me that these people make gazillions of dollars a year, and, more frighteningly, that people actually copy these people!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Food Network
If I could have said it better myself, I would have. Anthony Bourdain's take on the Food Network.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Daily Bay Bridge Saga
I have a major issue with California drivers. I don't know if it's the high ratio of luxury vehicles (on a good day it's only a ton of BMW's... I'm usually one of the few POS cars on the road...), or the high ratio of selfish a$%hole drivers. Hard to say. But when you want to merge into a lane, say the one I'm in, there are a few rules that should be followed:
- if I am where you want to go, speed up or slow down. DO NOT try to merge anyway. I am cranky when faced with congested freeways and low blood sugar. This applies to the morning commute (haven't had b-fast yet) or the afternoon (hungry for din-din)
- if I will be where you want to be by the time you are going to get there, DO NOT try to merge anyway. See #1.
- If you don't signal, I don't know you're going to try to usurp my place in my lane.
- do not try to compensate for the lack of signaling by a) drifting slowly into my lane, or b) darting quickly into my lane. You;re still an ass, and I can not be held responsible for the angry look on my face, nor for the profanities issuing forth from my otherwise innocent face at 7:20 in the morning.
- no matter what the current issue of whatever magazine's currently in vogue, road rage is NOT attractive. You will not get a wealthy and good looking mate this way. I am in the right lane because half of the Bay Bridge is an uphill incline, and my POS car gets tired. If you want to pass me, feel free, just do it the way the rest of the world would - IN THE PASSING LANE. The asshole that tried to pass me on the non-existent shoulder this morning in their black BMW SUV! You will get your comeuppance! And you didn't succeed anyway - did you miss the fact that there IS NO SHOULDER?!?!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Time Suckage
I have been busy. Mostly with recovering from getting my wisdom teeth pulled. Wow. That sucked. Still swishing gaping holes in my jaw, but now able to keep food down. Just to sum up.
Post wisdom teeth pullage - I had a BF birthday to deal with. So I baked a cake. A chocolate cake with pear filling glazed with chocolate ganache, and with milk and white chocolate decorations. I ground up pecans and substituted some of the flour. The filling was so volumous the two layers wouldn't meet, and I couldn't glaze over the gap. In a nutshell, if decadence wanted to indulge, this would be its cake.
I made the decoration on top by scanning a tile that Craig has of his family's crest. I cropped out the lion, enlarged it, printed it out, put a piece of parchment paper on top of it and traced it out. I hate white chocolate, and so I'm extremely happy to be using some of the 3lbs I had in my cabinet (even if I did only use 4 oz...).
OK - so the letters are freehand. I couldn't trace through chocolate.
And somehow as I couldn't find my round cake pans, and octagon seemed yummier than a square...
Post wisdom teeth pullage - I had a BF birthday to deal with. So I baked a cake. A chocolate cake with pear filling glazed with chocolate ganache, and with milk and white chocolate decorations. I ground up pecans and substituted some of the flour. The filling was so volumous the two layers wouldn't meet, and I couldn't glaze over the gap. In a nutshell, if decadence wanted to indulge, this would be its cake.
I made the decoration on top by scanning a tile that Craig has of his family's crest. I cropped out the lion, enlarged it, printed it out, put a piece of parchment paper on top of it and traced it out. I hate white chocolate, and so I'm extremely happy to be using some of the 3lbs I had in my cabinet (even if I did only use 4 oz...).
OK - so the letters are freehand. I couldn't trace through chocolate.And somehow as I couldn't find my round cake pans, and octagon seemed yummier than a square...
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
I finally live here!
Almost a year to the day exactly since I moved to San Francisco, I finally managed to join the residents club and get myself a residential parking sticker. This means that I can park in my neighborhood ALL DAY LONG without having to move my car every two hours. I am so so super psyched. It means I finally live here...
Friday, January 05, 2007
Odd Trivia
In case you were wondering what happened today in history, here are some juicy tidbits:
| 1592: | Shah Jahan, Moghul emperor of |
| 1914: | Ford Motor Co. increased its daily wage from $2.34 for a nine-hour day to $5.00 for eight hours of work. |
| 1923: | The Senate debates the benefits of Peyote for the American Indian. |
| 1928: | Walter Mondale, 42nd Vice President of the |
| 1933: | In |
| 1993: | The 103rd Congress convened. (This one just seems slightly random - not unlike this post) |
LOTR; Fellowship enters Moria (If you don't know what LOTR stands for, and te hint 'Moria' didn't give it away. Go away. Seriously. You are not dorky enough to be here.)
Who finds this stuff?
Sunday, December 03, 2006
MUSHROOMS!!!!!
I was so absolutely bummed to hear that mushroom season 'was ending' already this year. Mostly because this is my first winter since I got bitten by the mycological bug that I have lived away from where there are many. I.e., I now live in the city and am bummed that I can;t go crawl around in the pine needles and mud that is my 'back yard' and come out with several pounds of yummy fungus that I would have to pay upwards of $12/lb for in the city IF I could find them.
So I was very happy to find this morning that my land lady was sorely mistaken - mushrooms were still out in abundance. I didn't even have to crawl - I just walked around the property and in about 20 minutes picked up nearly 15lbs of Boletus (relative of the Porcini - and often what they are called). I gave half to my land lady, and brought the rest home. I cleaned them all up and sliced them up for drying like I do every year, and then remembered that my oven here in SF is new, and doesn't have a pilot light... which has always been essential for mushroom -drying. Hopefully they'll be OK. If I'm really lucky there'll be some still around next week when I go back up...I gave most of the #1's to my land lady (tight little baby Boletuses that are mostly light colored and a bit wet because they haven't even emerged out from the ground yet - hard to find.), so these guys look a little old, but dried they'll be awesome. Hopefully the pepper grinder gives some sort of perspective.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Why I quit the Restaurant business
People ask me that all the time. I have many answers, but this is definitely one of them: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=26&entry_id=10982 & http://www.chow.com/grinder/323.
Thanksgiving Post
Turkey Day. As one who never ate Turkey on Thanksgiving growing up (thanks, Dad!), somewhere in the back of my mind I never really understood what all the fuss was about. As far as my inexperienced self could tell, it was a lot of fuss over an over-sized, under-moist bird. And the concept of eating at 2 or 3 (does nobody appreciate that this means you really do have to get up at 5 to put the damn thing in the oven??) is totally foreign to me.
Enter my experience with my old boss, Rob. After 3 years of eating yummy brined, de-boned, stuffed and trussed Turkey (or 'Turkey in Bondage'), on my first Thanksgiving solo I could not stray from the concept. I was hooked.
So - I ordered a Turkey from the local butcher's ( a real old school butcher's), and brined it overnight in a garbage bag lined 5 gallon bucket (good thing the BF is a contractor and has these things lying around). Getting that puppy in the fridge meant I had to pull out 2 shelves to get it to fit, but these are the things that you do... we were going to host Thanksgiving at ours, but my co-cook, David, has a Kamado in his back yard, and this is what we wanted to cook our bird in, so to his house we went. I was still convinced that de-boning was the way to go (besides, it's really fun in a carnal sort of way). I let David do all the butchery, and I have to again say that for one who has never done that sort of thing before, he is really good! I only showed him a couple of tricks, and like the enthusiastic Canadian that he his, he totally rocked it. I put the Turkey in it's merry bondage, and cinched the hell out of it, as we found out that the thing would not fit on the grill. We decided to hang it from inside the lid instead, and I was cinching to try to make it shorter. Added a bit of cooking time, put came out phenomenal. As I ended up with a 16lb bird instead of a 14 (long story), our timing was off anyway. And we managed to eat by 7 (only 2 hours off of the planned 5pm!!). I also have to add, that if you take our the rib cage, etc, carving the bird is much easier, as you just cut off slices (like if you were serving a pot roast...). That way the man of the house can take his self-proclaimed proper place at the head of the table carving the bird, and you don't get the whole fight over whether or not he knows what he's doing (which often, I have found, they don't).
Good friends, a lot of great food, and free-flowing wine. A good time was had by all. And the Turkey is awesome! Even re-heated with no gravy, it is extremely juicy and yummy, and the left overs are not at all tiresome. I am only slightly pissed that David got all of the bones for soup.... Can't wait until next year.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Boredom
The things we do for....boredom. I had about an hour of it the other day, and so www.craigcummings.com was born. It petered out about the time I was figuring out how to do automated photo galleries, so that'll be incorporated soon. As will some animation bits. (And yes, I know about the broken links....). Still not bad for a closet geek who doesn't have any web software (and refuses to use iWeb - I find it damn useless...).
Those of you who HAVE visited, will know which kitchen's mine...
Those of you who HAVE visited, will know which kitchen's mine...
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
California Emissions
My Jeep. It has been quite the topic of interest in my life. Many hate it, some love it, I refer to it as 'The Albatross'.
I got my registration renewal notice in the mail a little wile back, and I have to get it smogged this year. Major pain in the ass. So. After the requisite amount of freaking out, I take it to a mechanic that I drive by everyday, does smog checks, and has a stellar reputation on Yelp. Literally 10 minutes after dropping it off dude calls me and tells me that he couldn't do the smog test on my car because the check engine light didn't light up when he plugged in the computer. He goes on to tell me that it will cost about $200 to rip open the dashboard and determine whether or not it's a burnt bulb, or (more likely) if the electrical system is failing in the dash. This, to me, is the death knell for my car.
Craig is not convinced, so he calls his mechanic (the guy who has been taking care of my car for the past almost two years, and who doesn't do smog checks). His mechanic confirms that you have to have a check engine light to get a smog check done, but tells us that he'll figure out what the deal is with the light for $75. Craig and I figure it's worth it to know whether or not I need to scramble to buy a new car and agree. We take it in, and he proceeds to call me periodically throughout the day to ask me strange questions: did the other mechanic run my VIN number through the system, what exactly did the other mechanic say, and so on. Finally his assistant calls me that afternoon to tell me that my car's ready and I can come pick it up. But, of course, she can not tell me what the hell's going on with it.
So the next morning I walk in to the mechanic, where he hands me my keys and a smog certificate. Evidently, he never had to tear open the dashboard - after some research, it came to light that my car was manufactured 2 months before the Clean Air act took effect in 1990. So I didn't need a check engine light. And he only charged me $100 for the whole ordeal (smog checks run from $35 - $50 a pop).
3 days later my registration sticker arrives in the mail from the DMV - and the whole time I have an exhaust leak and a whole in my muffler so big that I set car alarms off as I drive down the street. I take comfort in the fact that the world is a better place with California cracking down on air-polluting cars like mine. ::grin::
I got my registration renewal notice in the mail a little wile back, and I have to get it smogged this year. Major pain in the ass. So. After the requisite amount of freaking out, I take it to a mechanic that I drive by everyday, does smog checks, and has a stellar reputation on Yelp. Literally 10 minutes after dropping it off dude calls me and tells me that he couldn't do the smog test on my car because the check engine light didn't light up when he plugged in the computer. He goes on to tell me that it will cost about $200 to rip open the dashboard and determine whether or not it's a burnt bulb, or (more likely) if the electrical system is failing in the dash. This, to me, is the death knell for my car.
Craig is not convinced, so he calls his mechanic (the guy who has been taking care of my car for the past almost two years, and who doesn't do smog checks). His mechanic confirms that you have to have a check engine light to get a smog check done, but tells us that he'll figure out what the deal is with the light for $75. Craig and I figure it's worth it to know whether or not I need to scramble to buy a new car and agree. We take it in, and he proceeds to call me periodically throughout the day to ask me strange questions: did the other mechanic run my VIN number through the system, what exactly did the other mechanic say, and so on. Finally his assistant calls me that afternoon to tell me that my car's ready and I can come pick it up. But, of course, she can not tell me what the hell's going on with it.
So the next morning I walk in to the mechanic, where he hands me my keys and a smog certificate. Evidently, he never had to tear open the dashboard - after some research, it came to light that my car was manufactured 2 months before the Clean Air act took effect in 1990. So I didn't need a check engine light. And he only charged me $100 for the whole ordeal (smog checks run from $35 - $50 a pop).
3 days later my registration sticker arrives in the mail from the DMV - and the whole time I have an exhaust leak and a whole in my muffler so big that I set car alarms off as I drive down the street. I take comfort in the fact that the world is a better place with California cracking down on air-polluting cars like mine. ::grin::
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
This is a .... barm
'Barm'. It's gotta be one of the wierdest words ever. And some of the oddest looking stuff, too. Basically, it's starter that you've fed, let get all frothy, fed again, and then let ferment (preferably as slow as possible to get a more 'sour' flavor). I let mine ferment for about 12 hours in the fridge, and then pull it out and let it sit under the oven light for a few hours until it comes back up to roomish temperature. And you know it's gotta be good, because the stuff actively bubbles while you watch it.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Mmmmmm....
Glory shots of my latest loaf of home-made sourdough bread. It takes me about 3 days to make one, as I feed my starter (I love my starter, but it does not make for a romantic pet...), make a barm, ferment my barm, make my dough, ferment my dough, let my dough rise, shape my loaf, let my loaf rise, and then finally bake my bread. Fun times. The close-up of the crust (yeah for Macro settings on digital cameras!)is somethiing I am particularly proud of. The fact that I can get a crusty criust that is shiny and a golden brown in color and crackles as it cools... it's like porn.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Battle of the Sunflowers
And the afore-mentioned Miracle-gro sunflower. Or as my friend (The Dark Lord) put it, my flower on steroids. You can see the other guy grown in last year's dirt on the right. Both had a layer of compost as mulch - although I don't know if I would do that again in containers. Even though it helped keep down weeds and helped keep my plants hydrated on really hot days - I think that it promoted a lot of bugs. Some of my plants (and the lower leaves of my sunflowers) got eaten by some bug I never saw. I doused my plants (the non-edible ones) with warm soapy water a couple of times, and that seemed to do the trick. Either that or the drop in temperature ;)
I may be on to something
While living in Japan, I used to drink various hot beverages that we got out vending machines. This morning I went to make my tea (I hate it that I quit drinking coffee!), and realized I didn't;t have any milk. Like a true domestic demi-goddess (not yet a full-fledged goddess yet...) I have powdered milk - I use it in my sourdough bread (I live in SF...) and in my yoghurt (of course I make my own yoghurt). After I managed to get all the clumps dissolved (ew!), I cam o the realization that my tea now tastes exactly like 'Royal Milk Tea' - a flavor of beverage that comes out of a vending machine, and almost always had cornflower blue itty-bitty flower wallpaper motif on the cans. Weird how two things like that can connect in your brain - and how powdered milk can take on a different sense of importance in your cupboard...
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Worst Movie Ever
I know that the above title is an intense statement - but trust me, I have been subjected to the WORST movie EVER. I should have known when I read the Netflix sleeve and saw Mark Hamill's name.... I also am embarrassed to admit that I managed to stay awake throughout...
Thursday, September 07, 2006
My baby Sunflower
This is my baby sunflower I grew on my deck - as anyone who has actually BEEN to my house knows, there are pots and pots of things growing on my deck. This sunflower was grown in last year's dirt w/organic compost. The base of the flower is about 3/4 inch in diameter. Sadly, the two others I planted 6 weeks after this one in some miraclegrow I found (damn evil stuff) are about to bloom, and are twice as tall, with 3 inch buds. They should be blooming in about a week. But this guy's so cute! I am resisting the urge to post pictures of my bolted and blooming arugula... I can't get rid of the flowers...they're trying so hard to be alive...
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Widgets
I have a major problem, and I curse all those (fabulous!) Apple geeks who came up with the widget concept. And for coming up with being able to access them all instantly with the click of a wheely-button. I just downloaded a gazillion of them. They're fun - they're cute - are they helpful? Only when you (don't) have to kill time and/or procrasitnate.... I have hours of wasted time ahead of me....
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