Party on Boone Lake, once they get it in the water.
It’s just Victor and me for Thanksgiving this year (unless anyone wants to come out and join us) and I’m thinking of making a Thanksgiving-themed small-plate extravaganza. I haven’t run this by Victor yet so we’ll see if he embraces the idea or clings stubbornly to the old ways. Here’s what I’m thinking of so far, in approximate order of serving:
Stilton Tart Bites w/ Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Swiss Chard
Sweet Potato Chips with Turkey Leg Confit and Cranberry-Black Pepper Chutney
Champagne-Rosemary Sorbet
Mini-Mashed Potato Pancake Sandwiches with Sour Cream and Bacon
Individual Turkey + Mushroom Stuffing Bread Puddings
Haricot Vert and Red Onion Salad with Pistou
Small Pear and Almond Cakes with Muscat Syrup and Mascarpone Cream
I think most of your standard Thanksgiving elements are present in some form, except for pumpkin, of which I’ve never been a huge fan (and I’ve got butternut in there, so the squash family is represented). Some of the recipes are either straight from epicurious.com or slightly adapted versions of recipes found there; others are from my brain.
I was also thinking of tinkering with this menu and including a soup amuse bouche: maybe take away the gnocchi and have some sort of squash puree with star anise or cardamom or something, served in a shot glass or a little tea cup.
Anyhoo. What do y’all think?
It’s been a while, I know. Sorry, Mom.
A few weeks back we went to a party at Hilary’s house for our friend Ramiro, who had been imprisoned in Oaxaca last year, basically for being in the wrong place at the wrong time at a teacher’s strike. Lots of you already know the details: if you don’t, check out this Amnesty International Action Alert. He’s free now, and with his wife and two kids. This summer they moved up to Eugene, Oregon, where Ram has been doing some bird work.
It was purely amazing to see Ram free, and healthy and happy, and with his incredible wife and two great kids. Again, a huge thank you to all of you who took the time to sign the petition, write letters, donate money and give good advice. Here’s some pictures that Kerry took- I stole them off his Flickr site. Go here to see the rest.
Joshua and Cami, Ram and Ruth’s really cute kids.
Here’s Ruth helping Joshi to some pie.
Ramiro and Joshua.
Ramiro and Kerry. This is at the point in the evening when Ram had entered the “I love you, man. No, really, I love you, man!” stage.
So I got to go home early today from work.
First, we had a fire. This is the second brush fire in as many weeks that has come close enough to the Center to necessitate the stationing of a Fire Marshall on the premises to evacuate us in a timely fashion should the need arise. So we were on tenterhooks most of the afternoon, ready to grab our personals and go.
Then, in an anticlimactic sort of fashion, the power went out. It may have been cut by the fire department, but we didn’t get any warning if it was. After wandering around for a minute or two, the assistant director said, “I give up. Everyone just go home.” So I did. Yay!
Right now, according to weather.com, it is 68 degrees F in my town of Pacifica, CA.
In Pleasanton, which is 30 miles due east of here, it is 102 degrees F.
Granted, visibility here in Pacifica is about 100 feet or so.
Nonetheless: w00T!
Here in Pacifica, the hottest month is the month of September, during which the average high is 71 degrees.
This means that it’s a comfortable temperature for drinking port in the evening all the year round. Huzzah!
We went down to Carmel/Monterey to celebrate my parents’ 40th anniversary. Here are some pics of the time we had. My parents are so freakin’ cute it makes me want to barf.
Me with a wine glass, number 893 of a series.
Travis’s blog-friend was apparently in Monterey at the same time and saw the exact same harbor seal as us. We didn’t get any good deals on shirts, though.
Victor mit knob:
Today is my last day of a 3 week span of freedom.
Tomorrow I start my summer semester. I’m taking a PHP/MySQL class.
On Friday I will start a new job. It’s in addition to my current job, but should only occupy about 10 hours per week. I will be working largely from home: my primary responsibility will be to maintain a blog for the School of Library Science’s internship program.
To prepare myself physically and spiritually for these transitions, I underwent a cleansing ritual. There were no sweatlodges, psychotropic substances, or emetics involved, though. I just cleaned my desk.
I filed last semester’s notes and papers. I organized my texbooks. I rearranged my plants.
I am pleased.
On Friday Victor and I met up with my friend Jen in Santa Cruz. She was there visiting her birthmom and sister, with whom she only recently became acquainted. However, all that is just backstory to the real item of interest.
Sister works in a spa and so is knowledgeable about spa-oriented equipment (I don’t really know how else to describe it). The day we visited, we had the good fortune to be present when her new neck extender arrived in the mail, and I gave it a whirl.
This isn’t what it looked like. But it gives you the general idea.
Sister’s neck extender must be used while reclining. A strap is fitted across your forehead, holding your head firmly against a cradle that supports the back of your head, neck, and shoulders. The part of the cradle that supports your neck is made of rubber and can be inflated by means of a hand pump similar to those found on blood pressure cuffs. As you inflate the device, your head is forced upward, extending your neck, and theoretically releasing tension and aligning cervical vertebrae and all that good stuff.
Like many things that are meant to be self-administered stand-ins for services normally rendered by others, it was entirely unsatisfactory- rather like trying to give yourself a footrub, or a haircut. Or like those vibrating massage chairs, or the things you can use to massage your own back. To be fair, it probably is not meant to be used in a party-like atmosphere with six people standing around looking down at you and commenting upon how the forehead strap makes your eyebrows look funny. Still, while I was using it the pressure on my head was uncomfortable, and when I was released from the device my neck didn’t feel appreciably different.
You very likely never knew there was such a device, and if you forget this post and never remember such a device again, your life will probably not be impoverished in any way.