Friday, November 16, 2007
checking in with updates about nothing
I don’t really have much to say, but I’ve had an unusual jump in readership this week so I thought I’d put something up to entertain (hopefully) the masses.
So yeah, I’ve been back from Santa Fe for a few days. This is normally where I’d post a link to photos, so here it is. With this trip, my “collection” of cowboy boots is now back up to five pairs. It’s a start.
I had a nice talk with Syd Masters on Sunday about assorted shit and specifically about setting up his damn MySpace Music page already. I would have had it done by now, but he wants to do it himself so he can fiddle with it. And what with gigs, and deer hunting, and elk hunting, and buffalo hunting… he promised me he’d have it up by the first of the new year. His Colorado pal is gonna take matters into her own hands if he doesn’t!
My clutch is scheduled to fail just about now, but it’s been behaving flawlessly ever since I called my mechanic about it. I swear, this car is driving me nuts right now. If I didn’t love it so much, I’d have to kill it. (Sings quietly to self: I used to love her, but I had to kill her, I knew I’d miss her, so I had to keep her, she’s buried right in my back yard). Mom’s car really did die the other day, and inconveniently far from my trusty mechanics. The guys who have it are saying it’s her timing belt, but I don’t recall mine costing anywhere near that much. I should dig my old receipt out of the glove box and make sure I’m not crazy.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the organic turkey is ordered. I’ll inject it with wine, stuff it with some herbs and apples to steam it from the inside, baste it with… I haven’t decided what yet. Last year, I used bacon fat. Surprisingly, it added no flavor. I’ll probably go back to butter-n-drippings this year. Mmmm, butter. I was thinking of making a dried cherry sauce in addition to the gravy, but it seems redundant with the cranberry relish (with dried apricots and cardamom; new recipe this year). I’ll roast potatoes with the bird, and also some in a separate pan so that the vegetarian contingency can have crispy taters with their Tofurkey. I’m planning a dish of mashed truffled sweet potatoes with goat cheese, and sautéed green beans with toasted pine nuts. Oh, and a pumpkin was thrust upon me, so I may roast up some pumpkin chunks with lemon juice and rosemary. Heck, if the weather is nice enough I can skewer them up and do them on the grill. The biggest pain in cooking a holiday dinner is finding room in the oven! For dessert, I’m giving pumpkin pie a break this year, and going with pecan instead. I usually do two pies, but by the time everyone is done gorging themselves over dinner, I always have about a pie and a half left over. It’s time to stop the madness.
For those of you who find my independence threatening (Snick), please note: I am taking applications from strapping, handsome men who can pour strong drinks and deftly carve a bird. And who don’t mind helping out with the dishes. Mechanical skills a plus.
Way past my bedtime and I’ve forgotten everything else I was going to say. Until whenever…
12:44 AM
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Booteriffic
I spent an hour this morning writing a post that my browser then ate before it loaded. Damn. 12 hours later and I don’t remember what it was about. Obviously, not very important. So I’ll summarize with this:
Back at the Ranch (twice). Overland Sheepskin, which has liquidated their boot selection in favor of Uggs. A couple of boutiquey stores on the Plaza. Two vintage sellers at the Tesuque Pueblo flea market. (I was definitely close, there.) Corral West (bleh). Finally, Western Warehouse (no link, because their price was higher than list so fuck ’em). I didn’t intend to spend this much on boots. But oh my, they’re lovely. Teju lizard and goat skin. Go ahead, lick them.
Oh, yeah, and we grabbed dinner (and beer) at the Santa Fe Brewery tonight so we could see Syd Masters and the Swing Riders. I’m a very happy girl. A very happy girl with a new Syd CD.
Getting up at o’dark thirty tomorrow to catch a flight, so I’m off to bed early. Visions of vintage leather inlay dancing in my head.
Currently listening :
By Syd Masters & The Swing Riders
9:06 PM
Friday, November 09, 2007
flying to Santa Fe
Driving to Santa Fe: 6 hours and a tank of gas. Let’s say $35. Winter threat of poor/closed road conditions at Raton Pass, and year-round threat of being wiped out by drunk drivers (huge problem in NM).
Flying to Santa Fe: Left the house at 6:42 this morning. 5 minute drive to the Park-n-Ride, 10-minute wait for the bus. Caught the SkyRide ($10) to the airport. Made it through security, boarded the flight ($59) around 8:30. Was in Albuquerque approx. 75 minutes later. Waited an hour for the shuttle ($25) to Santa Fe. Pulled into the Hotel Santa Fe at 12:08. Not sure of the travel time up to the house, because I never pay attention to the time when I’m here. Total: 5.5-ish hours, $94. And I can’t throw a case of Chuck from Trader Joe’s in the trunk of the car. But the monotony is broken up…
I dunno. I’ll probably go back to driving, although it’s more interesting with passengers.
6:19 PM
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
dedicated to Erin
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.– para. Robert Burns
Erin has recently turned vegetarian on me, which I’m actually fine with (provided she doesn’t go vegan, because then with whom will I share fine cheese?). I like veggies. I love veggies, in fact. Even as a kid. And Erin won’t be my first vegetarian friend. I had one vegan friend back in Brooklyn, but hello, I lived in Boulder for eight years. You figure it out. Since I have experience, I’m voluntarily “shouldering” some of the support responsibility so her husband can eat bacon in peace.
And, you know, I just got this shiny new Crock Pot. So hey, this lets me mess about with some veggies and see what I come up with!
Today’s experiment was a halved acorn squash, shells topped with a pat of butter and sprinkled with brown sugar, then stuffed with a mixture of brown basmati rice (cooked in vegetable broth), minced onions, and dried morello cherries. As a last minute thought, I poured in a half cup of water to keep any of the overfilled rice from sticking to the crockery. Cover, set to low, and go to work.
10 hours later, I walked into the house to the smell of… toasted grain? Did I bake this morning? Oh! The squash! Um, there’s NO condensation on the underside of the lid. That’s not ideal. Oh my, what a caramelized color the rice has become. I quickly boil some water to pour in to the dry pot (so as to not crack the hot pot with cold water) and then gingerly scoop out a squash half. It does not stick, and maintains its shape. I pick off the top crust of brown-very-brown rice, and tentatively bite into a forkful of … a yummy squash/rice/cherry blend, slightly bittered from the burnt grain it was sharing close quarters with.
I had a science teacher in grade school explain that no experiment is ever a FAILURE, though you may get a result that you don’t EXPECT. So technically, this recipe isn’t a FAILURE. While I might try this combination again, I think I’ll stick to roasting it in the oven.
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Also, Erin recently encouraged me to “poke the bear.” The following seemed like an apt rendition. So this final bit winds up being dedicated to TWO people:
Poke poke poke. Bother bother bother. I hope you find me less irritating than a finger in your eye.
7:17 PM
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Other people’s stuff
I can take no credit for writing or filming the following items. In the case of the vid clip, I can’t even take credit for discovering it. Each will take about 10 minutes of your precious short-attention-span time, and each is worth it.
Paul Ford (of Ftrain.com) responds to a request for 100 different ways to say I love you.
and The Deep Voice of your conscience asks: are you popular?
Have fun, kids! Be home at a reasonable hour!
Side Note: If any of you aren’t yet using the “new” MySpace home page skin, you should ask yourself why.
10:04 AM
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Schtanna
Hey, world out there. Does anyone remember when I dropped my car off at the body shop? I’ll give you a few seconds to think about it…
Okay, pencils down. The correct answer is the morning of Wednesday, October 24th. Because Mandy was arriving at the airport that night, I got myself a little rental car so as to not put my friends out too much until my car was ready to pick up on Friday.
Ready to pick up on Friday? Friday, you say? Hmmm. I got a call from the body shop on Friday, but instead of Lane telling me, “Hey, your car is ready!” it was actually, “Hey, look, we’re having a problem.” Some of you know, I drive an Acura Integra. Yeah, the one you’re picturing? The coupe? That’s not it. I have the sedan. Unfortunately, the parts shop sent the bumper cover for the coupe. Then they sent another cover… but it was cracked. So as of Friday, when I should have been picking up my shiny (and straight) car, it was still lounging naked around the shop. But, they assured me, I should be able to pick it up on Monday. Tuesday at the latest. Oh, and by the way, they can’t find any more reconditioned bumper covers, so they have to go new and it will cost $80 more.
Monday afternoon: Phone call from the shop. The new bumper cover JUST came in. It will be dropped off in the paint department to be shot first thing in the morning, and I should be able to pick it up end-of-day Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon: Um, they’re kinda of having a bit of a problem matching the paint. They pulled the VIN and sprayed it that color, but it doesn’t match the body. Oh, really? I’m stunned and amazed. Neeeeeever would have expected that.
Wednesday afternoon: They brought out the big guns. They called in The Guy from the paint company. He brought their $50,000 spectrometer with him. They are Going To Match That Color, dammit. But every time they scan the body paint, it errors out. I think pride is preventing them from calling Maaco to see if they have the pigment record. Instead, their paint guy is spraying a sample board (in the print world, we call those draw-downs) and will call Maaco if he’s officially stumped.
Thursday afternoon: My car is ready! I have officially exchanged the keys for the 2007 Kia for my lovely 1995 Acura. The bumper is shiny and smooth. I can no longer get my fingers in the trunk without opening the deck lid. The color matches. They are also picking up the tab for 5 extra rental car days. Good guys. Annnnd, as an added bonus, for which the body shop did not charge me a single extra penny, they have assured me that the hex that has been on my car — ever since Jack accidentally knifed it — has been lifted. Still, I think I might stick a little schtanna on there somewhere. Just for good measure. ;)
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Unrelated note: I used my new RED brand-name Crock-Pot for the first time today. Pork roast with onions. Mmmm.
8:05 PM
shoes and pie 