Tomorrow is my birthday so I've been doing the rounds with family and friends. Mostly going out to eat. Food is the way to celebrate you know.

Today's meal was lunch at VegiTerranean, Chrissie Hynde's new (fall 2007) vegan restaurant in the northside district of Akron, Ohio (USA).

I went with my Mom and my sister and my baby niece. We enjoyed the food, and decided that we'd certainly go back again.

My mom started with the Creamy Squash Soup which she liked very much. She said that it was a little bit spicy. My niece ate some of it until she maybe got an extra spicy bite and wouldn't have any more.


( The rest of our meal, this way. )

crossposted to food_porn

Copy this list. Leave in the bands you've seen perform live. Delete the ones you haven't and add new ones that you have seen until you reach 25. An asterisk means the previous person had it on their list

1. Bad Religion
2. Ani DiFranco*
3. Dinosaur Jr.
4. M. Doughty of Soul Coughing
5. Bob Dylan
6. Echo and the Bunnymen
7. Flaming Lips*
8. Robyn Hitchcock
9. James
10. The Judybats
11. Magnetic Fields
11. Modest Mouse*
13. Morrisey
14. Pere Ubu
15. The Pretenders
16. Primus
17. Leon Redbone
18. Sebadoah
19. Skankin' Pickle
20. The Psychadelic Furs
21. They Might Be Giants
22. Richard Thompson
23. Too Much Joy
24. Violent Femmes
25. Neil Young

If you're feeling lonely: Buy some comments. The inimitable Rob Cockerham has something new up his sleeve.

So, do you remember that very first kiss? I mean the first real kiss. So do you remember not quite knowing what to do? Do you remember trying to fake it and do everything you remembered hearing about and seeing? Do you remember how it just became very wet and hilarious yet wonderful and fun?
That's sort of what my first quiche was like.( Story Here )I like it. The next one will be better, and it really wasn't so hard. Maybe soon I can quit buying souffles at Panera!

So dinner tonight was awful. It probably could have been prevented. But I followed through with the disgusting plan. "hmm. Leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge", thinks I. "Hmm. very old partial package of frozen cheap-o brand spinach/some kind of cheese ravioli.", Unwisely thinks I. "OH I need more vegetableness in this dinner plan." realizes the me. So out come the hard as hardass opinions frozen green beans. "Mmmm" thinks my self. "What can I do to make this meal worse (I mean better... I think)" Dangerously close to the precipice I remember, "cheese makes everything better!" So, out comes provolone and feta. (are you gagging yet? No? read on)

At least I cooked it all in my quality enameled cast iron Le Creuset cookware that I paid mere fractions of retail for. Ah, If anyone is curious I think this is the pan I am going to get: Calphalon One 8 1/2 Qt Dutch Oven So I buttered up a little bitty pot with some butter (duh), put in some taters, some garlic bits, some feta cheese, some olive oilness on top. Pop 'im into the toaster overn at 350 for a bit and lay a probolone circle on top later. "Eh, why weren't those mashed potatoes better in the first place?" I wonder as soon as I try them. The pasta circles float and floozled in the water in the pretty blue pot. When I tried them after the allotted time they were dense and chewy and tasted of parts I shouldn't mention. So, I cooked them longer. They might have softened up. My brain might have softened up. The green beans. Well once I actually looked at them I couldn't looke at them againe. Thus they booked a room at the hotel landfill purgatory (otherwise known as the bin under my kitchen sink). So out came the nasty pasta pods. Out came the potato pie with cheese for a crust and feta for veggies. with a drizzle of the big O on the ravs and a bit of Old Bay to remind the cooches to wash up we all sat on one plate to partake. "Ugh, I had to eat, but why this", yarbles my palate. "What torture hath I ever wrought against thy?" chokles my tongum. "Eat what thou hast have!" screambles my brainbles. And so I can't finishe it. And here it is to torture all of you as well, and here for me never to forget. For there is some tale about forgetting and repeating. And, oh dear creation, let me not repeat this.

I had to eat. The stuff was there. Someday I'll learn to not buy what's not good, to use up what is, that cheese is no good for me, and to throw out what's bad, and to make better mashed potatoes in the first place.

Current Mood: indescribable

Dear everyone, (and maybe especially inspectorxero)

It being the birthday time, some extra dollars made their home with me. Not wanting said dollars to feel overly restricted I let some of them go travelling. Some of them decided they wanted to live at the TJMaxx store (I know, what were they thinking, there must be more fun places for a buck to hang out). So, in exchange for letting my dollars live with them, the folks at the store sent me home with a new stock pot. I'm just not sure I chose the right one. I decided I needed one of at least 8 qts. The general story I hear is that Stainless Steel is just fine, in a reasonably heavy weight and maybe with some kind of triple-ply or layered metals what-have-you thrown in for good measure. I also read that enameled cast iron is ok too, but I'm seeing a bit that says that isn't the best. But what I found in my little haven of price-slashed cookware was an 8 qt cuisenart SS with a heavy bottom, an 8qt circulon with a non-stick interior (which the mom says will eventually give us all cancer according to the man) and a very pretty Chantal enameled cast iron 9qt pot having a clear glass lid which I bought. But I'm still not sure, and could still return it for something different.

Any suggestions?

So with all of the flurry of Harry Potter reading going on at my house I had to indulge further and I bought some of the silly Bertie Botts every flavor beans. Silly silly I know. The grass flavor I rather like. Chewy sweet fish flavored beans are nearly revolting. Ear wax flavor could be worse. Soap is a bit too soapy, I guess that's to be expected. I can't really be sure if the dark reddish brown ones I've had are earthworm or dirt. They do taste somewhat earthy, I guess, but I'm not sure what that indicates.

To remind myself:
Laundry
new apartment
Lime Spider?
Knitting
Hiking
Studying
Cleaning car?
Packing
cooking and ironing
paying bills
balancing budget
quality time with kitty
cleaning house?
birthday party?
Dad
Eh? what else?

It's hot and damp and much raining. I wish I had a porch to sit on. Oh and I have to go to work. I wish I was going to a porch with lemonade with mint in it and a rocking chair or a glider and a book.

I want to know how you live. If there is anyone who actually reads this.
Are you a messy packrat?
Are you a tidy organized packrat?
Is your home cluttered and sparten? (possible?)
Is your dwelling tidy and empty? (If so do you get rid of lots of things? not acquire anything?)
If you get rid of things on a regular basis or on some sort of major occasional basis how do you manage it? Is it easy or is it torture or some middling regular old kinda work sorta task?
Do you do the old "has it been used in the past six months? If not just toss it" reasoning?
Or do you have some other method.
I need to get rid of more stuff
Or maybe organize better.
Will I be happier with less stuff?
WHAT ABOUT BOOKS?
Do you throw out all the oddball stuff from the first twenty years of your life?
Do you miss things you've gotten rid of?
THESE ARE THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS OF MY LIFE!
today.
Thanks

Current Mood: curious

We actually went and looked at the inside of an apartment today. It is very possible that we will make an effort to rent this particular home. It is on the second floor and it is a bit small, but there is a basement and the expense to neighborhood quality ratio is pretty good. We should know whether it's a go in a couple of days.

Current Mood: hopeful

The sweat powered scent of fresh cut grass.
Calling calling calling for a home.
Calling calling calling a friend,
for a hike
A real walk in the woods,
in the woods we walk weekly.
It's ever changing and
still not familiar.
The same trail is always different.
Tasty feta with smoked mozzarella
Spinach tomatoes oh my
Onions and olives oh dear
Dinner is delicious.
The salad was bigger.
I didn't work for work,
I worked for me.
Tomorrow is work for work.
Tonight is time for rest.

Current Mood: hopeful

Big storm. Storms are cool. Storm at night. That's ok. Heavy lightening. Power goes out. Ok not so bad. Heavy rains. Leak in very middle of bedroom above very middle of bed. Not so hot at 2 am. Or any other time. + additional nearby leaks, just to make it fun.

I have always enjoyed the part of putting away the vacuum cleaner right after I unplug the cord. That is the moment when I give a subtle but certain flick to the cord in order to send it jumping over towards the vacuum. For a moment the electric cord is fun and carefree yet it is my bidding that it bends to.

Current Mood: busy

Which Evil Criminal are You?
A Rum and Monkey crime.

Hailing from sunny Transylvania, your first blood-related incident was when you stabbed a servant girl in the face with a pair of scissors for underperforming. Some of the red spray landed on your hands, and as you washed it off, you noticed that it left your skin fresh and young looking. From then on you were convinced that the blood of young girls was the secret to eternal youth.

Rather than killing girls outright by stabbing them or slitting their throats, you enjoy torturing them for weeks on end by pricking them with needles or prodding with sharp spikes - all to bathe in their blood. You've killed over six hundred women, all without raising a peep from the authorities.

and it feels like summer. I reallly like that. I get to wear my completely non-body-conscious non-flattering batik pattern oversized sundress and be frumpy and comfortable. It is actually sort of wierd feeling to do because most of the clothes that I wear now are much closer fitting.

So I'm opening up my bin of sleepy summer clothes and putting all of my weary winter clothes to bed. I'm enjoying it thoroughly but I have a terrible time staying focused and once I think about how unfocused I am I become more distracted. But as long as I keep doing one more thing I can progress. It is a great feeling to be able to send things off to the thrift as well as to discover lovely things that have been packed up as though they are new. The winter clothes are so much heavier than the summer that I may need more than one bin to hold them all. We shall see.

Yesterday was a day of yard sales and hardly a bargain to get excited about. I got a timer. I'm not even sure what I will do with it. I got it because it was only a quarter and timers are not cheap. 4-6 dollars usually. I have had times in the past where I wanted one but did not want to pay for it. So I bought this cheap one and I'm sure that a purpose will reveal itself at some time.

Current Mood: productive

Well super fantastic horrah yay!!! It's all so nice drinking super imperial stout rich black chocolateness mmm yum,. a quick fuzzy bussy niceness and ohhhh! New Robyn Hitchocck that I didn't even hkow about!! and Robyn Hitchcock (yes! Robyn Hitchcock HITCHCOCK) playing at the beachland ballroom next um oh! Monday... this mondaty !1 oooh ooh I must will am going to go , no ifs and or buts. It won't sell out but maybe siI  should buy some ticket so there is no question of attendance. Ooh hoorah.. haven't had the album long enough to be sure of a reaction, but there is goodness there. erm. Just got it tonight. so glad I saved that borders card from the end of the summer. geez how could i wait so long!!! So glad I did ! oooh AAaaaand I got a NEW  hat. I looooove hats. You should all kmow. Lovely hats. Charatacter hats. I look good In most hats. ERp I said yoiu! means somebody MIGHT read this eeps. Weelll that's um a hope that there is some alien life out there sommmmmewhere k, whcih how can it be avoidable, . too much space eh? some of you could .... um something I forget. Well I getter better. stop this nonsense. sooooo it's soooo time for beddy bye et cetera. tmy lati8n teacher said that it is et cet not etc, it is from et cetera which is latin for something... oh why idd i not pay enough study tention eh? tell me. I'm supposesed to finish hwere. mmm friends friends thaere are so few.. don't count on much when not much can count on you. so be it hallelujah. that's the ruthie truthie is all. mmm yeah,. a hat I got a hat. I think I like  it.. it's not quite whatlk I expected but I htink I oike.like. it i think we'll get along. I think It's a special handmade thing I will love forever....
lvoe foever. o
that's a speical  thing o
no when
no where
o
where
o
when
o
tell me
o
o o oo
oooooooooh

cats oh

must drink rest of thick balack oil
o

Mmmm  Tampopo. I think I'll name my first daughter Tampopo. She'll follow her dreams and climb her ladder. She'll grow anywhere and go where-ever she pleases. Movie and knitting. Definately don't need food during that flick. Plenty of food for the eyes to fill your tummy in your head. Knitting. It's not altogether zen yet, but It is meditative. I do have to be careful how I sit. I have to lean back and rest my shoulders or I tense up. I thought Knitting and needle crafts were supposed to be restful. ooh and Allagash Grand Cru, It's not a belgian white as is typical of my top faves (or a lambic) it's a belgian Ale. MM it is good. Dry and a touch bitter but with a good flavor. I should be better at flavor descriptions but If I said any more I would just be saying what I read at ratebeer.com

Current Mood: sleepy

I'm learning to KNIT ! I've been meaning to do this for 4-5 years now, had the book and needles and just never did it. And now I am! so there. It's not pretty and all i can do is knit, no purling, just rows and rows of garter stitch! but it makes me so happy, I could just do it all day long! hurrah

Ok, time for me to make some reflection upon my day.

Yesterday luffliffloaf got me an M keyboard. Wooo hoo! It is heavy, solid, does not make a million too many letters. It feels substantial like an Oldsmobile from the 70's. It is funny in that the spacebar is especially clacky and I seem to only space with my right thumb. Do most people space with just one thumb? or both? or the other? So, it seems as though my right thumb is very loud. inspectorxero had something to say about his new M not too long ago. Xero Gloating

Went and got a haircut tonight. My dad was all about me going to see his Russian hair stylist who he has been patronizing for many years. So I went off to see Rosita this evening at 8. She was very friendly. She says " First we have consultation." Then I tell her who I am and we talk about Dad for a bit. She has a lady who she wants to hook up with Dad, so later I get Miss Lady's number.

So back to the haircut. I show her some picture of Amelie. Say I want something like that. Some bangs, a bob with some slanting down from the back. Angled up, etc. and before I can say too much she is telling that she knows what I want(Obviously way ahead of me and plotting her own takeover of my hair). I like that in a hairdresser. Someone who does what you ask for/tell them is good, but I want someone who when I give them free rein will take the wheel and go.

So off we go to shampoo. Very good shampoo/head massage. She is chatty about family and so forth. Then back to the chair and suddenly she goes into serious artist mode. I don't know if I've seen this in a stylist before. Lots of concentration. She appears to be inspired and focused, so I don't speak, just watch and watch the fellow hairdresser working nearby. One minute she is doing careful slow slicing and the next minute she seems to be doing wild snipping and hacking. I like watching my hair disappear but I'm never sure if I like it right away. (Shaun wants everyone to know that he is drinking a Celebrator at the moment-the fancy beer with a horsey necklace) I'm worried that my face looks too round, that maybe she's not giving me enough bangs and so on. She finishes and is obviously delightling in her handiwork. She thinks it's cute and sexy and full of volume. It is. With the right styling I look like I came out of my mom's 1960's yearbook. Pretty cool actually. Maybe I'll put some pictures up this weekend. Because I'm vain like that.

ooooh, that was not such a relaxing trip to the art museum. There are some really beautiful, contemporary, temporarily on exhibit, paintings that I would love to go back and see. And, what looks to be a really interesting exhibit of quilts. But today all I got to see was a headache by the end of the day and a lot of funny questions. Like "What's wrong with that picture?" and (about people in paintings and sculptures, after some discussion of death due to looking at a sarcophagus and discussing its use) "Is she dead? Did he die? How did she die?" I kept saying that if they hadn't died they would be about 200-600 years old, depending on the art work. Following was a lot of talk about not wanting to die.

The quilts of Gee's Bend

Kelly McLane: My Blue-Green Algae

For my own sense of accomplishment and the potential (not-so-likely) edification(sp?) of those on my friends list, I will try to post SOMETHING once per day.

I've almost timed my morning activities to allow me to do everything desired. I had a shower. I made a fresh nutritious breakfast of delicious Bob's Red Mill Super Gluten-Free Whole Grain Cereal. It is hot. It is super, and full of much fiber; Hoorah! Unfortunately I have no real maple syrup to top it with, so, I've had to make do with the aunt. I was hoping to stop and purchase a sandwich for lunch, but there just may not be time. I've hardly time to put the vast amount of extra cereal I manufactured into storage.

It's off to the Cleveland Museum of Art today with all of my precious little ones from the daycare. Quite looking forward to it, as it's an all-day event away from the center. I just may be forced to avoid baloney or something equally bleah.I must focus on my cereal and consider the lunch possibilities now.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Nobody came.

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud

Apparently part of the Patriot Act allows the FBI to check out your Bookstore or library materials and have their search be totally secret, check it out here:

Oh what a perfect day.
Well, I saw Leon's post about flower-boxes and I must say that it got me all to thinking about the spring and the growing time. I love flowers. They are wonderful to me: their shapes, their colors, their scents. Oh the fabulousness of them. The lushness, the simplicity. I've had crocuses for about two weeks now. The green spikes of the irises and daffodils are coming up along with daylilies, tulips, sedum, irises, baby's breath and the succulent groundcovers. It's reason enough to live, just to breathe the same air they do.

So, I have not posted in a while. I'm trying to figure out what I want this journal for. I read a lot, comment a little, and post less. Lj is appealing to me, but I don't want to just blah blah blah. The other reason that I haven't posted anything may be that I don't seem to be able to focus on anything that I (conciously? subconciously?)  consider to be valid, worthwhile, important, high priority, et cetera. My other conciousness seems to think that the things that I do focus on, mindless browsing, constant book-reading, sleeping are not (or are?)  valid. Out loud I say that these are the things that are important to me, books, friends, enjoying existence. But, there are plenty of things that I definately think are worthwhile and important, or at least important, that I still don't do. Play with the kitty more often, brush my teeth regularly, cook healthy food on a consistant basis, find a better job, further my education.  I am not driven, I do not aspire, I am aware of possiblities, I am aware of better opportunities, I consider.  I may sound lazy, and there are those that would consider that true, but there is something else to me. Something that causes me to be aware of the minor apathy, procrastination and uncomfortable nature of my life. I wonder if this could be called unhappiness or dissatisfaction. If I have some sort of dissapointment in myself, it will probably make me unhappy with my life and even with my job, which I am. This isn't really what I meant to journal about this time.

What is going on, is this awful desk of mine. piles. Piles PILES. pileS. pILes. Any way you slice it I've got piles, on my desk, not on me thank goodness.

 So, now I've made dinner. Faux chicken hot nuggets, asparagus. I added pita, hummos, cilantro to mine. luffliffloaf added hot habanero sauce.
Then some dishes to do, some cool shirt presents from the thrift to try on. Some father foibles, and some ebay car looking, and now, just no time for the desk. So sorry desky!
No process tonight!

The temperature is risin' in Akron, Ohio and I am very happy. It's hella nice to have warm hair on my head and roll my window down when I'm drivin' down the street. On the other hand I still have three and a half hours of work left. or, conversely I'm done with the first 4 1/2 hours of work and only have 3 1/2 hours left, hurrah the glass is half full. But what will I do this beautiful weekend? Well... I'll be face painting at the big summer camp extravaganza at Chapel Hill mall tomorrow from 2-4 pm. Come, and bring your kids. Does anyone reading this have kids? I sure don't I don't know what I'd do if I did. I wish I knew. I try to care for children all day long. They are soooo aggravating. Really, they're just exploring their world and checking things out. They're being brave and I'm telling them no. They're developing a sense of humor and I tell them it's not funny. They're learing to sleep less during the day, and I tell them to go to sleep. They're sad and I tell them they're OK and they should stop crying. It seems horrid here and now and it seems about half horrid at the time and half necessary. They're so ornery. I really should fold some laundry now. Maybe I'll go to a park this weekend. I like having rockin' hiking and messy weather boots, but unfortunately I don't have any.

You are "Bowl of Oranges". You see life
to more than what most people do and you
genuinely care about people. You feel art and
music is the sure way of lifting your spirits.
You wish others could have appreciation like
you do, but, unfortunately, you are probably
the only one.


Which BRIGHT EYES song are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


I don't know this music, I wonder if I should. I like the answer to this quiz, it makes me seem nice.

from mappess, who seems to have a sudden obsession with Bright Eyes

Just for the curious and otherwise, one reason that I started this here journal thingy was so that I could join the mortalworkofart community http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=mortalworkofart since I've applied to have one word from Shelley Jackson's Skin project/story for a tattoo. Check it out, I think it's neat. I'm just waiting for the mail to bring me a word for a tattoo.