Monthly Archives: April 2008

April 30, 2008 · 11:24 pm

Furikake

Yes, as a matter of fact, it does look like fish food. But furikake is actually a seasoning for rice, and it comes in even more varieties than fish food does. And thank goodness for that, because when I made my decision to go mostly vegetarian, it occurred to me that a basic ingredient in furikake is bonito flakes. Enter: yasai fumi furikake. Vegetarian furikake! And, can I tell you? Delicious. Absofrikkinlutely delicious. I’m oddly fond of rice in the first place, but this stuff is like rice-crack. Available at your local Asian grocer, I buy mine from Pacific Ocean Marketplace for $2.99/jar.

I’m heading off to the wilds of semi-rural New Jersey for a few days, so I’m taking this moment to predict that I may not create a Friday post. Then again, I may. Woo, can you handle the suspense?

3 Comments

Filed under blogging, family is going to be the death of me, food

April 29, 2008 · 10:49 pm

A post especially for Mandy

Mmmmm, butter.

The End.

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Filed under food, friends, trans-fatty acids

April 28, 2008 · 10:44 pm

More about nothing

First off, my apologies for missing yesterday’s post. I usually write at night, but I was wiped out after the weekend, and I spent the morning catch-up opportunity CLEANING MY HOUSE. I still have days (and nights) of organizing ahead of me, and I’ll do as much as I can before I head out of town for my uncle’s memorial service. I feel much better now that I’ve packed my sweaters away for the season, and finally untangled the shoe collection. I have once again run out of shoe cubbies in the closet, but the remaining pairs are now neatly stacked instead of the threat-to-walking-across-the-floor that they’ve been for a shockingly long time (and found a shirt that I was starting to think I’d never actually bought). I still have to deal with a crazy amount of laundry, both clean and dirty, before I can finally allow people upstairs again. Because I know that Jessi has been sneaking up to use the empty second floor bathroom during parties, and I don’t want to subject her to the chaos any longer. :)

The weekend with my father was a joy. It is perhaps best summed up, however, by a conversation he had with his neighbor/friend/dogsitter when he returned home:

Deb: How is G’s jewelry business going?

Dad: I don’t know. I didn’t ask.

Deb: How are the dog tag sales going?

Dad: I don’t know. I didn’t ask.

Deb: What did you two talk about?

In case anyone else is wondering, or my father discovers my blog: The jewelry business isn’t really a project that I actively pursue/advertise. I make stuff because I enjoy the process, and if somebody buys something to help offset my costs, then yippee. I actually fear becoming successful, and having to make stuff. Then it becomes work. The dog tags, on the other hand… well, their sole purpose (other than to decorate your dogs/cats/similarly-sized animals) is to provide a small boost to help defray the extensive costs of operations over at Colorado Pit Bull Rescue. So by all means, buy ’em up!

Oh, and I rec’d a sweet handbag in the mail today, purchased from an eBay auction:

Man, the cats who stripe are so talented.

Okay, back to cleaning!

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Filed under family, life-threatening clutter, shoes, shopping

April 25, 2008 · 12:19 am

Vaya sin Dios

Go without God (addressing the plural). Watch how I start with dinner, and manage to come back around to this:

I enjoyed a lovely (and stuffing) Indian meal with some blogger gals. Ladies, if you will. We talked about lots of things. Husbands (theirs), kids (theirs), jobs, careers, ex-boyfriends, pickles’ association with disco,* blogging, stalkers, Henry Rollins… At one point during the evening, one chum said, about me, “She doesn’t like Christians.”

Um?

She was joking, of course, but it did give me pause as I drove home… I’m an atheist. It’s my own choice, within my own set of beliefs. But are there really people out there who think I want to recruit them? Like some sort of deranged missionary? “Euw, you believe in God? How gross. C’mon, believe in yourself, it’s what all the cool kids do. Don’t you want to be cool?”

But, because I am who I am, the part of this internal dialogue (monologue?) that really intrigued me is the etymology of “atheist.” Greek. A=without, theos=god. That part is totally clear. The part that puzzles me is the phrasing. I am an atheist. Not “I am atheist.” I am without god. I am an without god. I mean, euw, gross, what horrible syntax. But, atheist is a noun. Also, atheism is a noun. Atheistic is the associative adjective, and I think it’s clunky. -ist is a suffix that usually forms a noun, but can form an adjective. Sexist is, unfortunately, the only example that I can think of at this precise moment. Or rather, it’s the only example that the OAD can give me right now, because I am too tired to think of even one.

And whether you’re Christian, or Muslim, or Hindu, or Buddhist, or Jewish, or Wiccan… I don’t really care what theistic or non-theistic beliefs you hold dear.** Your beliefs are precious to you, and you can keep them. Just as I’ll keep mine right here in this pocket, and oh, look, a dollar! Bonus!

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So anyway. I joined Brightkite and thirty-something bloggers. Because yeah, I have time for more social networking. HOW do you ladies do it?

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*If anybody can explain this, please do.

**Except maybe for those people who believe that certain celebrities (and many non-celebs) are actually lizards. Yeah, I do have a bit of a problem with that. If you’re one of those people, and you read my blog, you may now boycott me. I understand.

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Filed under blogging, friends

April 23, 2008 · 11:52 pm

I had a cohesive idea

But I forgot what it was. So, more icebox cake:

My dad is popping up for an impromptu visit this weekend. HOORAY!!! I cannot begin to explain in words how much I love my father. Anyone who has seen the two of us together will attest to the fact that I am essentially a clone of him, albeit with a significant chromosomal difference. Yes, yes, I understand the DNA similarities make me a sort of clone anyway… oh, forget it. Just know that, during an iChat discussion he and I had today regarding historically accurate use of typefaces, he took a moment to correct my use of “infer” when what I really meant was “imply.” Yeah, I think that sums it up rather neatly. As Mandy once put it, “Does the apple even fall from the tree?”

Anyone (Alison) worrying how this will effect my attendance at Gears, Grease and Guitars this weekend… it shouldn’t. I may be late, though.

I’m very much looking forward to joining Villanovababy, Greeblemonkey, InherentPassion and ImaginaryBinky for dinner this week. Ohmigod, does this make me a blogger?

This article about elevators is actually fascinating, but if you can’t bear to read all eight pages, then you owe it to yourself to at least watch the horrifying/compelling video. Which will only make you want to go back and read the article, so really, you may as well start there in the first place. My favorite excerpt:

… elevator manufacturers have sought to trick the passengers into thinking they’re driving the conveyance. In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.) Once you know this, it can be illuminating to watch people compulsively press the door-close button. That the door eventually closes reinforces their belief in the button’s power. It’s a little like prayer.

Until tomorrow, my children.

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Filed under blogging, friends