Sunday, December 28, 2008

A few things I appreciate...

  1. A great recipe for pumpkin cake, recommended by a fellow blogger and baker. Not so good for you, but it calls for homemade caramel, which is really fun to make. And it's really, seriously delicious.
  2. A very odd, very warm front that made its way through yesterday, melting about a third of the snow on our balcony. Now we can almost pretend that there has only been a moderate amount of snowfall this month.
  3. A really nice day with the in-laws yesterday. And 3a) their new Wii. Much extra gratitude for their new Wii.
  4. The big mess on my desk which serves as evidence of having written Christmas cards to almost everyone I'd wanted to, almost in time for the holidays. That's right, Kevin. I appreciate my own mess - let me know if you are able to make sense of that.
  5. Not having had time to put up our Christmas tree. And therefore not having to take it down again.
  6. Our new best friend, the television.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Don't forget to take out the junk first...

Hi there, blog. I'm sorry about the ongoing neglect. Anyway...

I cooked a whole turkey for the first time this Thanksgiving. When I mentioned my plans to a coworker on Wednesday, he told me to "just remember to take out the junk first." And I did remember, kind of.

While prepping the bird I found a meaty
neck tucked into the cavity, and I put it in a container for future soup purposes. But the cavity was otherwise empty, unlike those of chicken I'm used to cooking, which would contain a variety of small visceral organs. Doubting that there were none included with this turkey, I asked Kevin to shine a flashlight up the bird's butt so I could have a better look, but still we found nothing.

So, feeling safe, I went ahead with roasting, and it came out really well. Then I started to carve. I cut right into a neat little pocket of neck skin that they'd tucked the organs into, wrapped in paper. Dammit. Was it safe to eat? Kevin's mom hurried over to say that the meat should be fine, but we just shouldn't eat the organs. I wondered who would have turned down a leg for, say, a nice chewy heart... but I didn't ask. So we ate it anyway, and it tasted fine, and no one got sick. I still don't fully understand why it's dangerous to leave the junk in, but it would be nice if they didn't hide it so well. At least now I know where to look.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Moutarde

















Yesterday we went for a drive to Mount Horeb & New Glarus, just to get out a bit while the weather still feels nice on the skin. The Mustard Museum was pretty cool. I wish we hadn't been so stuffed when we got there, since there were lots of things to taste in the gift shop. We did come away with a nice Poupon U souvenir mug.

Here were a couple that reminded me of home:


































We also walked through the Mt Horeb Fall Festival and I tried to befriend some llamas... but they weren't having any of it. I love the cool rocker-llama hairdo, though.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Random Parade

From our balcony this afternoon we watched an impromptu celebration (of something that remains unknown) marching along the bike path across the street. The music was actually pretty catchy. Part of me felt like running out to join them.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Like a Tree Frog

When asked to describe her aunty's appearance, my 3-year-old niece listed the following physical characteristics:
  • black hair
  • boobies
  • a nose
  • no teeth
  • red eyes, like a tree frog
I'm thinking maybe I need to see her on a more regular basis, at least so she knows that I've lightened my hair.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Newly Discovered

  1. Jogging. I've been going for roughly 2 months... 1/2 hour a day, every other day. Feeling awesome, but having trouble keeping my hands off fried food and ice cream since I started.
  2. Another Lol-ish blog. I particularly enjoy the Cate Blanchett, Javier Bardem, Cindy McCain, and Posh Spice look-alikes.
  3. And another blog
  4. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which was awesome. I haven't enjoyed a Woody Allen film this much in years. In fact, I'm going to see it again this weekend.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Fasten your seatbelt, slutpuppy, this ain't gonna be no cakewalk!

A fond farewell to Estelle Getty. As much as I love Bea Arthur, Sophia was always my favorite Golden Girl. It's never a bad time, though, to stop and appreciate how awesome a television show The Golden Girls was. So go ahead - take a moment...


Saturday, May 17, 2008

f-r-e-e-d-u-m-b

Yay for late Spring! We joined a CSA this year for our veggies. Our second box came today with lots of greens, plus a few herb seedlings to grow on our own:















I stopped at the Co-op to get some mushrooms & sat outside for a few minutes with a smoothie to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. Across from me sat an aging hippy wearing a bright orange safety vest. He kind of just started talking, and I took note of the following points from the conversation, though I was only rarely able to get a word in edgewise.
  • He was an ex-con back in the seventies
  • Upon his release from prison, he was immediately drafted. Essentially, he could go to war or go back to prison.
  • He had trouble getting a job when he returned from Vietnam, "because all the veterans were treated like criminals!!" [I thought, "all the veterans? Or just the ex-con veterans?" Though I know that was generally true back then. ]
  • In this country, we have no rights. And, "freedom is spelled f-r-e-e-d-u-m-b"!!
  • He was once married by common-law without realizing it and was later ordered to pay child support for a child who may or may not be his.
  • His wife left him for a woman, and his son, at age 16, escaped from a mental institution and came straight to Madison to find his dad. The young fellow had a tatoo that said "I kill hippies", as well as a nazi symbol tatoo and some metal spikes embedded in his head. He wanted his father to buy him beer.
  • He appends "the Bike" to the end of his name (which rhymes with bike), because he fixes people's bicycles. In fact, his bicycle has a large wagon hitched to the back containing other bicycles that he's working on.
He was interested to know when I usually hung out at the co-op so we could catch up again. So I did enjoy listening to the guy. But based on his reaction to a reference I made to my husband ("Well, I guess this conversation is over!"), I'll probably keep my distance from the co-op on Saturday mornings for a little while.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

No really, I'm fine.

Not to say that it's an excuse, but I'm having a relatively sleepless oncall week, and had time to make a travel mug full of strong coffee this morning, but not lunch.

So, starving and jittery, I bought a cheeseburger and fries at the cafeteria at work, and I'd made it up the first flight of stairs on my way back towards my desk. Then the door to the first floor opened behind me and distracted me enough to trip on the next step. The next thing I knew I was on all fours on the steps, surrounded by crinkle fries and my upside-down cheeseburger. A couple of alarmed people entered the stairwell, and as I turned around to tell them I was okay, I realized my face was covered in ketchup. One of them handed me a napkin she happened to be holding, and I mopped up my face while scrambling to pick up my fries and excusing myself repeatedly. Miraculously, nothing got on my clothes, but I was told a few minutes later by a coworker that I had a small glob still on my eye.

Fortunately, perhaps because I'm so tired, I am more entertained than embarrassed. At least I got to hear a good spell of trademark Kevin-Laughter upon relating the story. Totally worth it.

Monday, April 14, 2008

new toy!

One of my favorite takeaways from having gotten married is my new (or, sorry - our new) kick-ass camera. While I'm busy writing thank-you notes, here are some of my first pictures for your enjoyment. What's that you're demanding? Wedding photos? All in good time. Perhaps even by next week.









Friday, March 28, 2008

Poor Julie...

As I was leaving for work this morning the phone rang. I had the following conversation - not kidding:

Me: Hello?
Caller: Heeeey, what's uuuup!
Me: Who's this?
Caller: It's Jack! I got your panties!!
Me (glancing downward briefly): Huh. I think you might have the wrong number.
Jack: Oh. Uh, I was calling for Julie.
Me: Nope, not Julie.
Jack: Oh... I got her pink panties!!!
Me: ....
Me: That's great! Well, bye!

And it was the awesomest wrong number ever.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Building my vocabulary

A few new words and terms I've picked up this week:

Heavy freezing spray
Local ground blizzards
Thundersnow
Blowing snow advisory

Is it just me, or does a local ground blizzard sound way worse than the normal kind of blizzard?

Friday, February 08, 2008

Ok, ok...

Here, Kevin. Here's how much snow was on our balcony by Wednesday night, and also a shot of the yahara river, which was pretty:




























And in other news, I have a new nephew whom I'll be meeting at the end of this month. He looks very small and sleepy from his photos. Happy birthday to Gavin!


Around Christmas I taught myself to crochet, which is fun so far. I have about a third of a blanket that is just long enough to keep me warm while I'm working on it... so I guess I don't really care what it looks like when I'm done. I can also make coasters!

Whatever. To be honest, I have such awful winter blues right now. I hate February. Did you hear that 2000 vehicles were stuck overnight on the interstate like, 20 minutes from Madison?? Anyway, I'm going to zumba classes with Gwen and I made an appointment with a therapist. I can't wait until the snow starts melting.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Ode to Soldier Bear

Here's to the brave and noble Soldier Bear, who fought in WWII. "He drank a bottle of beer like any man". Be sure to watch the archival footage of him wrestling with his fellow soldiers. You think he's trying to eat the guy, but he's just playin' around.