The week time stood still

Without electrical power – all that gadgets that we use to pass the time do not function long or at all, eventually the cell phone, iPod, and laptop need to be charged. Its within three hours of week without electricity to some parts of the greater Louisville metropolitan area, and to be frank it 'sucks' to not have power. I can't begin to imagine the losses faced by those who had to flee their homes because of the hurricanes. All that I can do is focus on what happened locally. My parents and I were without electricity – their house and my apartment are in neighboring cities and a mere five minutes apart from car if you are willing to ignore posted speed limits. My aunt's and grandmother's homes both had electricity. The damage to my home would be fixed and paid for by my landlord. My parents lost a few shingles that were easily replaced through the effort of Dad and his neighbors. My grandmother had some branches in her yard – but no actual damage to her house. My aunt and uncle lost some shingles and a patch of siding but nothing that rendered their house structurally unsound. All it took was a short drive to see that we got off lucky.

Large trees are beautiful to look at, they provide us with shade – helping keep our yards and houses cooler than they would be without them. Trees also help produce the oxygen we need to survive. It was sad to see so many trees – some many years older than me ripped out from the soil or to have large branches ripped from their trunks leaving raw alive wood exposed in gaping wounds that no amount of antibacterial ointment can heal. Once you looked past the destruction of the trees you could see the fences, windows, cars, and roofs damaged. You could see the wires ripped from polls entwined with the trees on the ground and in some cases see the polls themselves lying across the roads.

It made me realize how much more fortunate we were than a huge portion of the people who make up our community. We had family with power that could help us save the food in our refrigerators and freezers. We had bank accounts with large enough balances and well managed credit cards that would let us make the extra purchases we would need to. And we had the ability to rely on each other for strength and a love of reading books a hobby that does not require electricity until the sun goes down. Our hot water was provided through natural gas and the delivery of natural gas was not affected by the power outages. Thankfully for everyone – the week was free of rain and the temperature was remarkably cooler making it tolerable without the air conditioning running constantly.

The storms were bad enough that I did not have work on Monday and the majority of local schools were closed for the week. When we reported to work on Tuesday – I was sharing the lack of electricity with most of my work group. We were all thankful to go to work and have electricity. Fire departments and local schools became distribution points for ice, water, hot meals, and showers for those in need. Neighbors worked together to clean up the debris. Electrical company employees worked round the clock and many came from out of the area to help restore power to the 500,000+ without power in Souther Indiana and the Louisville area. When we did get the chance to watch TV or check the news on-line we were confronted with scenes of the devastation in Texas and news of the human made destruction on Wall Street. In all it made for a surreal week.

Power is coming back on around town. Schools are scheduled to re-open on Monday. Many churches did not cancel services this morning – but are meeting without electricity; encouraging congregations to sit in the front of the sanctuary and sing along with the piano instead of the organ. Stores and restaurants spent the week cleaning up, throwing away millions of dollars in stock, and eagerly awaiting shipments so that they could reopen. We will wait for a long time to see how many of the small businesses that were shut down due to the weather are able to survive. The local economy will be impacted throughout the rest of the year and into 2009 – especially as the U.S. economy quakes in lieu of the recent actions of the federal government.

All was not horrible this week – my cousin had a good prenatal check-up, I spoke often with my brother who is stationed in Iraq, I spent an excellent day with my niece, my cat enjoyed staying at my parents while I stayed at my aunts. Cairo enjoys all the furniture at my parents more than she likes any of my furniture – she definitely has good tastes. Cinnamon my parents beloved almost 13 year old golden retriever is recovering from an eye infection and though her increasing age and escalating health problems she remains cheerful. Cinnamon and Cairo are stellar at practicing the art of détente.

So – its now about 2 hours from the one week anniversary of the power going out. I find myself skipping church – with Cairo sleeping on my right and Cinnamon asleep on my feet. Tomorrow is my bonus day off work. Hopefully I will have electricity at home by the end of tomorrow – I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

One of my parents neighbors was generous and gave us a bowl full of backyard tomatoes – the basil in the backyard weathered the storm. This afternoon looks promising with a little electricity to help boil the water – it seems a simple lunch is in order giving us the rest of the afternoon to reflect and appreciate just how lucky our family was this week while at the same time encourage us to do what we can for those still suffering; not just from the storms but those who are struggling spiritually, emotionally, and financially in this country and in the rest of the world.

Damn when did it get to be the middle of June?

I swear just last week it was April - Mom and Dad were on separate vacations - I was dog and house-sitting. Suddenly it is the middle of June and I just spent 2 weeks dog and house-sitting... I am still living out of boxes in my apartment and that bothers me only when I am in my apartment so I am trying to minimize the amount of time I spend in my apartment. It's like I am playing passive aggressive tricks on myself.

I think that is because while I really like my new job and like 99.99% of the people - there is this passive aggressive culture that is stupefying. There have been several days when I just have to laugh about it and other days I think I could cry for the people playing those games. I have progressed enough to call it when I see it and not fall into the escalation game with people playing PA.

Today is Father's Day and I spent the day making Dad type food. Obviously this means that there was no tofu and bib lettuce in the meal. There was however a lot of pork - which I didn't mind fixing for him - especially after he filled up his plate for the second time and looked like he would stab anyone that tried to take his plate before he was finished.

Since today was full of a near sentient creature being eaten - I think my alignment for the day is somewhere waffling between Lawful-Evil and Neutral-Evil. Yesterday was good though - it was a completely veggie day. My mom, Aunt, and I had a retirement luncheon for a teacher friend - the meal was vegetarian but heavy on the dairy. We had quiche with brie and red peppers. Normally I do not like brie - it takes like mold to me. However the huge copious amounts of butter in the crust and quiche itself made the brie delicious.

I learned something interesting yesterday! I hope to put it into action sometime this week. I thought the cooking technique of confit meant to cook/poach something in fat/oil. I stumbled upon a cookbook yesterday from Eric Ripert and Micheal Ruhlman. Just the thought of Eric Ripert has me batting my eyelashes like a schoolgirl so I was intrigued and flipped through the book while a friend was checking out. I had already spent enough money or I would have gotten the cookbook. Confit of lemons is really preserving the lemons in salt. What could be easier? I am not sure anything could be. The most difficult part seems to be sterilizing the jars you are going to store them in. Luckily I grew up in a family that canned green beans, tomatoes, jams, and jellies. I do not find canning the least bit intimidating. So as long as I can procure some meyer lemons this week - I am going to try something suggested by Mr Gorgeous Chef Eric Ripert with the uber-sexy French accent.

Since we are talking about Eric Ripert - I will continue the topic! He was a guest sous chef on the Top Chef finale. I would have rather had any chef by Lisa win. I was thrilled Stephanie won. I was saddened for Richard but I was impressed with him admitting that he had chocked. However he has a newborn at home so he is a definite winner - just on a different front.

I am really really really really really really really missing Mount Pleasant. First - its like a freaking inferno around here. I blocked how much I disliked the heat and humidity. When your hair is soaking wet from just walking out your front door to the car it is time to not leave the house and sit near a a/c vent and just chill out.... or get some Ben and Jerry's and just cope with the heat. Since I am trying hard not to get a huge vat of Ben and Jerry's and suck it down with a spoon almost too big for my mouth I am quickly moving from air-conditioned area to air-conditioned area.

So tomorrow is my A-day, which means it is a regular work day but I don't have to go into work. That makes me giddy with excitement to think about not getting up at 5:30 tomorrow morning. I have to get my apartment into better shape tomorrow, since I am excited to say I have a house-guest coming next Saturday. Not the kind of house guest that you make sure the sheets are clean and you shave things you might not always shave... but a great friend is driving from Little Rock to Mount Pleasant next weekend. I am luckily going to get to have her stay in New Albany with me on Saturday.

I am very excited for Angela to be headed up North to defend her dissertation! I know she will do wonderfully. I am also very happy for her and Bill to be on track to return to their beloved Northern California. Yeah!!!!

So enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

Love
Cybil

Best Birthday Ever

Mom’s Birthday Celebration!!!

I believe in big birthday celebrations. I think it is important to gather family & friends together and have a good time. I am however not into extravagant spending or gifting. I want celebrations to be meaningful and fun. I also like there to be some fire… but luckily birthday cakes often provide this. I got to prep for Mom’s birthday by participating in my boss’s birthday at work. For the work celebration I whipped up a vegan black bean and corn salad. I didn’t do anything special to make it vegan – I just know that going into a workplace you never know if people have certain dietary restrictions (medial, religious, or self imposed). I wanted to make something that was tasty and was acceptable for anyone to eat who was up for the adventure. I definitely could have made it hotter with the addition of more peppers and chilies; however I thought the Anaheim and poblano peppers I chose added a nice bite to the dish. Not to mention that any dish with the color contrast provided that this one has is appealing to the eye. There were the black/purple beans, white & yellow roasted corn, green & red peppers/chilies, red onion, fresh cut herbs - There were textural contrasts between cooked beans, roasted corn, and uncooked – though marinated – veggies. In addition it was pleasing to the palate with acid provided by fresh limejuice and a splash of balsamic vinegar, a hint of sweetness from some maple syrup (instead of honey… it was after all vegan), some cayenne for heat, and enough salt to brighten all the other flavors. Needless to say I was thrilled there were leftovers that I got to enjoy for the next week.

So what did I cook for Mom’s birthday? Not a darn thing. Dad and I thought of some really great gifts to give her (pedicure, manicure, 2 dozen roses….) and she was well pleased by our thoughtfulness; then we jumped into the car (once I was off work) and headed out to dinner. We had an enjoyable meal at the North End Café http://www.northendcafe.com/ on Frankfort Avenue. The food was spot on, though I was slightly disappointed in the temperature of our berry crumble dessert. This was my third trip to the restaurant and the food has never disappointed. However this trip involved service that was not as stellar as my first two visits. It was not bad enough to keep me from going back; it was just not what I expected based on my previous experience. I have yet to try them for brunch and when I have Delaney next weekend – she and I will definitely be going out to brunch…. Not sure if we will go to Lynns (Delaney’s favorite) http://www.lynnsparadisecafe.com/, or Toast http://toastonmarket.com/, or North End, or venture to a not yet tried Wild Eggs http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/?p=200 )

Where was I???? Oh yes talking about Mom’s birthday. My aunt is having people over to her house for Mom’s birthday luncheon with the ‘girls’. Counting myself there will be 8 of us. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to cook. I left cookbooks at my parents with pages marked for my mom to look at. I questioned her endlessly about what she wanted to eat. I eventually wrote up a list of potential dishes and let her choose from them. Then the week of the party was suddenly on us and I have a full-blown allergy attack that renders me grouchy, tired and unable to taste food well. We are charging forward – she has procured the groceries and I have a schedule for preparing the food. I even bought two sets of prep bowls for my mise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place ! The most difficult item of the week was getting the right cut of chicken (sorry to all my veggie friends but I am going to talk about this because it pissed me off). I could not locate a butcher shop that was willing to butterfly and remove the ribcage and breastbone of the chicken (spatchcock is the technical term for this). I called a couple of shops and the response over the phone to this request was not what I wanted to hear. One butcher claimed it was not something that could be done – at least the other said they were not set up for the health codes that would be required to do this. So instead of getting this done for me – I will be attempting it on my own. I should go buy a new knife just for this!!!!!

Friday prep (2 hours)

Prepare marinade and begin marinating the chicken (fresh herbs, lemons, olive oil, salt & pepper)

Roast garlic

Roast red peppers

Make Hummus

Make the Green Goddess Dip

Make the crust for the chocolate tart

Than get to Bones’ house by 6:30 to play D&D – let the looting begin

Saturday

Transport everything to my aunt’s house – and try to squeeze in a trip to the 1^st farmers market of the season on Bardstown Road.

Finish Chocolate Tart (make filling and bake)

Prep veggies for appetizers

Toast Pecans for Salad

Make Greek Yogurt Sauce for Chicken

Whip Cream for Dessert

Sample sangria and margaritas as my aunt makes them!!!!!!

Prep fingerling potatoes and asparagus for chicken

Make salad dressing

Prep salad

Cook Chicken and Veggies

Assemble food for serving and get in a 2^nd shower in time for the party at noon.

Menu (Recipes by chefs in parenthesis)

Appetizers

• Israeli Hummus
• Green Goddess Dip – (Ina Garten)

• Breadsticks
• Toasted points
• Haricot Vert
• Carrots
• Celery
• Mushrooms
• Radishes
• Zucchini
• Summer Squash

Sangria (Joe Castro)

On-the-rocks Margaritas (Joe Castro)

Lunch

Salad

• Limestone Bibb lettuce
• Grape Tomatoes
• Crumbled Feta
• Dried Cranberries
• Toasted Pecans
• Cherry Balsamic, Shallot, and Olive Oil Dressing

Greek Chicken (Jamie Oliver)

• Marinated Chicken
• Fingerling Potatoes
• Roasted Asparagus
• Greek Yogurt Sauce\

Tea
Water
Wine

Dessert

Fifteen Chocolate Tart (Jamie Oliver)

Fresh Whipped Cream and Raspberries for decoration

Vietnamese Coffee (Joe Castro)

Enjoy your weekend everyone! I know I will.

April Showers...

First off congratulations to Aaron and Anica!

(I am getting my passport in order in case the trip to Amsterdam comes through)

What the heck happened to March and do I really want that time back?

No I don’t really want that time back – nor am I really upset that it seemed to pass so quickly. It just does not feel like I have been in the Louisville Metro area for almost 4 months. Today it does not feel like it has been 4 months since I saw Mount Pleasant (MtP) and my abundance of wonderful friends and family there (while I am technically not related to anyone in MtP I consider many to be family). Perhaps on Saturday night when a large portion of that family will be together and I won’t be there I will miss them more than I do this Thursday afternoon. I have thus far resisted the urge to call them prior to 6pm on a Saturday or text them during the evening – considering I get easily irritated at those that do. Since moving from an area that was so rich with friends but poor in job opportunities life has taken some interesting turns.

While in MtP my job was a quagmire with no possibility of advancement and no possibility of work satisfaction. I am not sure why I came to just accept that. It was heinous to be in that job day-in and day-out for years, yet I stayed. Not only did I stay, I rarely even looked at other possibilities. Now that I have some perspective I see how doomed the situation was and how entrenched in dysfunctional behavior we all were. While I was often emotionally upset and battered by the passive-aggressive tactics I didn’t have the wherewithal to stop them or even call people out on them. Worse yet at times I could get dragged into the very tactics that stabbed huge holes in my soul and participate in them – only to beat myself up over it later.

So much was ugly and horrific to experience during this time that it is easy to loose sight of some good things. The best thing that ever happened to the clinic was Karen (and her wonderful spouse Mike). If Karen hadn’t been my boss for a short period of time the situation would have been even worse. We both survived the experience and got the hell out of the situation. I valued the working relationship we had and the leadership she provided. Now I am lucky and the three of us can just be friends – life-long friends. I also got to know some wonderful professors, administrators, and office professionals who were a part of the college (and not directly involved in problems at the clinic).

If it had not been for the support of the Elm St Gang and Jenn & Faron to whom I felt free to vent to about the situation I would have gone nuts. If it had not been for the wonderful clinical psychology students (and spouses) that I could lean on for emotional support and friendship I am convinced my despair and depression would only have been worse. (I am going to name some names but in no way is it a complete list: Aaron, Anica, Angela (Bill), Heather (Josh), Michele, Linda, Kevin Y (Kim), Kim, Chrissy, John (Heather), Felix, Erin, Chris (T), Jess, Carrie, Cheryl, Hina, Meagan, Andy, Leslie, Kevin T, Jason (Billie), Laura, Kelly, Saz, David, Raphael (Maggie), Justin, Jannel, Anna, Pam, Jim, Shelley, Katrina, and Nick & Sarah who transcended the division between graduate programs)

Now that I am out of the situation and the job that was killing me, life is much better – even though such a large circle of friends and family on a daily basis does not surround me. There were many days where I had blood pressure in the - you need to check into the hospital range. Since I decided to start looking for a job in the Louisville area (Middle to late October) through quitting my job my blood pressure got progressively better. I have not had a single high blood pressure headache (from a HBP surge) since November 14. Even though life has had its ups’n’downs and twists’n’turns since moving away from MtP – I have not felt like Sisyphus or Prometheus since walking out the door of the HPB for the last time on November 14, 2007.

Life has turned out to be pretty good in the Louisville Metro Area – better than I remember it being. My family has been a tremendous support and cheering section. My circle of friends is ever expanding. Best yet – there are jobs out there where you can be appreciated and rewarded. Jobs that don’t make you want to cry on a daily basis!

I found a job quickly and met some great people. I moved to a second job at the same place and returned to a career-permanent appointment and am enjoying it. I have interviewed for a promotion and am preparing documentation for another promotion in my free time. I don’t dread talking coming to work – I am not even resentful when the alarm goes off at 5:40 a.m. People smile here and mean it! I no longer cringe, spontaneously have a “WTF did I do now” look on my face, or feel my heart race to the precipice of having a panic attack when I have a conversation with my boss. People compliment your work and are appreciative or your help. I am not even looking through rose-colored glasses, I am well aware of existing problems such as difficulty finding quality employees and questionable internal customer service practices.

I even get a three-day weekend every other weekend at my new job. That is a huge morale boost and once things are settled I hope to take full advantage of them and go do fun things that I couldn’t afford while living paycheck to paycheck at a dead-end job. For instance – Mom and I are going to Cleveland soon. Why Cleveland? Well I want to try out Lola http://www.lolabistro.com/ and the Velvet Tango Room Bar http://www.velvettangoroom.com/ that Ruhlman recommended on his blog blog.ruhlman.com. I think Mom is the perfect companion for an indulgent meal and a good drink. (Dad might cringe at the tab too much to fully enjoy it.)

Before going on an adventure to Cleveland…. I am going to go up and visit MtP family and friends. It has been too long since I saw them and enjoyed their company.

In the meantime – I am still trying to locate housing, which fulfills my requirements:

1. Cairo is permitted – my 10+ yr old spayed and de-clawed cat

2. Doesn’t appear to be next door to a crack house or meth lab

3. Is in my price range

4. Has off the street parking

5. Has a kitchen with enough counter space to accommodate a decent size cutting board

6. Doesn’t smell like smoke – from a previous tenant or people living next door/floor

This 3-day weekend looks to be quite busy. My aunt is hosting a birthday luncheon for my mother on Saturday for which I am doing the cooking. (Look for a separate post about the menu and cooking of the food.) I am playing D&D on Friday night. I get to spend Saturday afternoon and evening with my niece making dog biscuits! I have to get the house cleaned up well enough for my grandmother to return home from FL while at the same time packing to go stay at my parents for a week. And get my parents ready for their respective trips – Mom to Florida and Dad to Ireland.

In closing – I have to ask: Who made the decision at Top Chef to let Daniel Boulud wear a leather blazer as guest judge? It was way to shiny – especially at Judges Table. I crack up when they put captions of what he is saying on the screen, when he is easy to understand in contrast to the mumbling and bad speech patterns of the contestants.

Where has all the time gone?

It is hard to believe that March is already half over. Have I really been living back in So. IN since early December? Is my grandmother really due home from FL in a month? Crap - I haven't found a new place to live or bought any furniture to replace what I gave away in MtP. The last couple of weeks have been a blur. Mom and Dad have had terrible bouts with bronchitis and my Grandfather's health has taken a turn for the worse, leaving him unable to live in his home. I've been a craptastic friend - not called people in MtP or my local friends. My job is rather social and when I get home - I just have trouble motivating myself to be social enough to talk on the phone. Enough of my bitching!

I started a new job on March 2nd. It has been a fun couple of weeks in the new office. I moved from having 24 employees to having 3 co-workers and a boss. It has been great to move into an office where the people function as a team and not a bunch of junkyard dogs in a pissing for territory contest. Its such a change from the HPB experience that I often wonder how I survived working there. Then I remember the answer - great friends that were caring.

Speaking of great friends - it's Larry's birthday on Sunday. Things were crazy with my parents and my grandfather this week and I never made it to the store to buy a card :(. I'll miss the singing of birthday songs at D&D. Honestly I will miss it - even if it makes every dog in a 10 mile radius howl. I also want to see how the insanity potion runs it course on Jaspia - maybe she can get a hold of the intelligent sword while her character is insane....

So back to this new job.... My computer accounts are not yet fully functional and I have spent a 'bit' of time spinning my wheels. What work I have been doing has been fun and well within the realm of things I like to do. For instance spending a day and a half researching information from local accredited universities and college for our Lunch & Learn and Tuition Assistance programs was lots of fun I was able to bring a perspective to the project that might not otherwise have been represented. I am looking forward to all the computer issues being resolved and further delving into other new projects and assignments. Did I mention how different this environment is than my last job - even if its the same gray colored Steelcase furniture in the office?

Another reason to be happy with life - its warm enough that even in the morning or the cool days its ok to wear Keens or Birkenstocks to work! Oh and no pesky micro-managed dress code that is impacting my hair style and color decisions or making me nervous too much of my left foot tattoo is showing through a pair or shoes.

So whats in store for this weekend.... Mom's cholesterol was higher than she wants it, so I am supposed to stock her house with food that is better than what has been keeping in the pantry and refrigerator. You don't have to tell me twice to do some shopping and cooking - so I am heading over to Creation Garden with plans for things I don't normally give thought to. It should be interesting and hopefully delicious. I also need to get Easter plans lined up - Mom was going to be in FL for the holiday but her plans changed, so I changed my plans to go to MtP. I decided we would have an open house and invite lots of people over.

I also have plans to catch up with friends this weekend. I need to make time to touch base with the people who are so often in my thoughts. In an effort to do so, I remembered to put my phone to charging.

I also need to work some on finding a place to live - Mamaw will be home before I know it. I love her and am very greatful to have had the chance to stay here; however our relationship will suffer if I am still living here past May 1.

Have a great weekend,
Cybil

Surviving February

What has another week brought? It brought definite good news for my friends Aaron, Anica, Chris, Sarah, and Stacey. Big applause to each of them for landing a clinical psychology internship for next year. I am real proud of all their hard work and wish them each good luck as they embark on this exciting new stage in their effort to complete their Ph.D program. Part of me was selfishly wishing for Aaron to be in Cinci and Anica to be in Indy. I'll just have to use some of my accumulating vacation time to head out to PA and IA to visit during the next year. The last few days in my old job have been twinged with some difficult emotional minutes. I really like these people. I got lucky in the random assignment of employees and ended up with a great bunch. I think it will be nice to not be their supervisor and suggest we meet up after work on a Friday someplace. I'll be moving to a new building next week - I'll probably get randomly searched by security when I leave on Friday taking with me my personal office supplies - because I could not function without hand picked pens and pencils, not to mention the desk caddy to store them in.


Starting next week I am going to try and get up even earlier than my current 5:45 alarm with the intention of hitting the Y before work. Going to the Y after work is just not an option - I have to many other things interfering. I tried the gym a few times before work in MtP and it worked out. I was pretty energized for the whole day and didn't have to suck down a couple of large soy milk lattes from either Java City or *$ to make it through work. One of the few things I miss about working in the HPB is that there was a nice coffee shop a couple of hundred feet from where I was working. While it can be expensive to have a $6+ a day habit for beverages it was often very convenient if you forgot lunch or needed an afternoon pick-me-up. It should be noted that people are not things in regard to what I miss about the HPB....


I am starting to try and find an apartment. My current free ride of house sitting comes to an end in Mid April when my spectacular grandmother returns from her winter escapades in Naples, FL. I hate the idea of moving - mostly out of sheer laziness. This also means I have to get some new furniture since I gave so much away before moving here. I have strong ideas about what sort of furniture I would like but I am also faced with the reality of what I can afford. Both my ideas and pocketbook will come together in my desire to live a less cluttered life. It will take me years to build back up the amount of books and collected paper that I had before moving. As to finding a place - I don't want to live in a huge apartment complex. All the noise and people that produce the noise are very unappealing to me. I need to find a cat friendly apartment even if my cat is not overly friendly. On that note Cairo the beast is looking rather trim these days and I am glad for it. She has also become much more socialble having spent some time under the tutelage of Craig and Cheryl. I am also thankful of that - so are any guest I have over. She has even felt kind enough to let me sleep until 6:30 - 7am on Saturday before she demands breakfast by jumping on and off the bed with enough force to wake me while wailing about being starved.


Did anyone catch 2.26.2008's No Reservations on Romania? It was hilarious! While I had to watch it on Wednesday evening thanks to the technology of DVR it was still so funny that I started to develop a side stitch from laughing so hard; by the end I had raccoon eyes from laughing so hard tears spilled down my face making my mascara bleed. Bourdain had some good snark going for the episode. Kudo's to Bourdain for recently quitting smoking for the health benefits to his young daughter. I wish I had made it to Miami for the Golden Clog awards - by all blog accounts that I could find it was a hilarious and liquor fueled snark-fest complete with Rocco showing up and in good humor presenting an award named after him.


My parents (and me) had people over to their house 3 nights out of the last 6 nights and I baked a lot of treats for work during the same time frame. It was lots of fun to try out new things and taste the results with friends. I have decided that the secret to good chili that is mild enough for my parents to enjoy is beer and tequila. Not to drink along side the chili but to actually put into the chili right after the meat and aromatics are finished caramelizing. Another good tip is to soak cut potatoes in cold water for at least an hour before cooking them - it helps pull some of the starch out of the potatoes. I roasted a pan of cut Yukon golds with garlic & rosemary seasoned olive oil. Having soaked the potatoes none of them turned mushy or stuck to the clay baking dish not to mention that the heavenly scent of olive oil with roasted garlic and rosemary permeated the house and the clothes I was wearing. I was tired enough from cooking on Sunday afternoon that my mom was able to shove me out of the kitchen and take over baking a birthday cake for our friends celebration. She did a damn good job too. While the cake didn't rise as expected the texture was lush and the taste was really good. She also made the German chocolate cake icing. Its fun when someone surprises and impresses you. She did leave the icing of the cake to me - and I was happy to lend a helping hand.


I have made several things lately and their success was dependent on the quality of the cheese I bought to go into the dish. There is something about smoked gouda and smoked mozzarella that elevate the cheese to a different level making them both taste more full bodied and rich. It was well worth it to drive over to Lotsa Pasta www.lotsapastalouisville.com on Saturday to buy a good block of Parmesan and some good aged 5 year sharp cheddar. The extra expense of the drive and the cost was worth it in the final product. Then again any dish with roasted red peppers, toasted pecans, and fresh rosemary ought to turn out well just from the heady scents those ingredients add.


I am looking forward to a weekend that is going to be in the mid to upper 50s. There will also be lots of fun with my now 10 year old super niece Delaney. I am anxious to hear how her big slumber party turned out last weekend. As a special treat I'll cart my laptop around so she can go to her favorite site and play her games... somehow I bet she talks me into getting her another Webkinz. www.webkinz.com - I have to admit that some of the stuffed animals are cute and cuddly. She does get the full retail prices worth of fun from them as she tears through the various games and earns points to decorate the animals houses. Perhaps I can interest her in some macaroni and cheese that doesn't come out of a box with a pouch of powdered cheese this weekend. I should just break down and buy a Wii and provide us all with hours of entertainment. I wonder if 10 is too young to try and learn Cribbage?


Well I am off for at least today - be well and be safe


-Cyb

Thawed Out

Wow is it really Saturday already? The weeks at work are passing very quickly. That is always a good thing, IMO. When the weeks go slow at work it often means I have not had a lot to do or I was very disorganized and spent time spinning my wheels. The last reason work can pass slowly for me - is I am in the midst of an existential crisis and hating my job. That was happening daily towards the end of my tenure at CMU. The people working in my unit have been great. They come with energy and a desire to do work daily.

The downsides to the job have been minimal - there have been some logistical issues with work flow out side of our unit and thus out of my control. I want mountains of work - even if the mountains of work will sit in the unit I'd rather it sit here than some where else. Lots of peeps have been ill with the flu or bronchitis or Louisville Metro Area gunk (nice way to refer to air pollution) and I am feeling germs trying to sink their poisoned razor like talons into me. Thus far I have been winning the melee against getting ill, I significantly improved my Armor Class by getting lots of sleep, getting a flu shot, getting a pneumonia vaccine, taking plenty of B12 and Zinc, and washing my hands so frequently that at times they spontaneously start to bleed - but not in a stigmata call Rome sort of way.

I am looking forward to joining the Training Section of the Bureau in a week. The office is really committed to working as a team. Just hearing that is so refreshing - enough so that if I even think of the job I quit in Michigan I shudder. I am trying to decide what sort of office toys/desk decorations I want to take into my new office. Currently I am not trying to weird everyone out with hanging up posters advertising Order of the Stick or Fear the Boot or for that matter putting a row of plastic monster miniatures along the top of my computer monitor. Nor is there a collage of tattoos I find interesting and variations I am considering for my next tattoo. I have found that once you get a tattoo you spend a lot of time pondering what your next one will be like. I have also thus far refrained from putting up anything that could clue someone into my quasi obsession with Anthony Bourdain the chef traveler star of the Travel Channel's No Reservations. It is rather nice to have a dilemma about what you want to decorate your workspace with. I suddenly have the urge to find all the cat or cat people plastic D&D miniatures possible to put along the top of my computer monitor... many out there know of my "fascination" with such creatures.

What is in store for the weekend? I need to work up some motivation for doing things that I don't like to do... laundry and putting away clean dishes. I have no problem with washing the dishes but for some reason putting them away is just distasteful. And anyone that truly knows me knows that I would rather go out and buy new socks than do laundry. However that little habit leads to owning too many pairs of sock and eventually your mother will yell at you for it - even if she doesn't live with you or do your laundry. The majority of the weekend will be centered around entertaining... either prepping to entertain or actually entertaining. My parents are having a dinner party on Saturday and on Monday. I am invited to both of them and am looking forward to them.

As much as I enjoy cooking and baking I am trying to work out a problem that has been occuring. I prefer to do all my prep for everything prior to beginning to bake or cook. This means lots of chopping, grating, grinding, cleaning etc.... To accomodate this I need to invest in a bunch of small pyrex dishes to hold all the chopped ingredients because right now I am going through a huge stack of paper plates each time I cook. I am either holding my instruments wrong, or my posture is bad, or my stance is wrong, or the counter is at the wrong level.... because everytime I cook I am miserable about halfway through the night with piercing pain from my neck to the tips of my fingers in my right arm. Its bad enough to rouse me from sleep and keep me up until it subsides. Being the stubborn bull-headed person that I am... I don't immediately think to go to the doctor to check it out.... since I will be prepping a lot this weekend I am going to try various stretching exercises before and after as well as soaking in a hot tub afterwards (with a nice sipping drink) and applying a topical analgesic before going to bed. Hopefully this will help because I am not going to stop the chopping and dicing.

I am trying to put together menu's for both events - one will be an all-American event complete with gourmet burgers and peanut butter pie, the other will be an attempt at a more Spanish/Mexican influenced menu. For me finding the perfect bites to nosh on before the meal and the perfect dessert are always what takes time planning. The main meal is easy compared to finding the right delicious bites to whet the appetite and the dessert to seal the deal without sending everyone into a coma (before they get home). Not to mention trying to work with a budget... if only there was no limit on spending - the things I could do but life is not like that.... (Evidently I have not yet found a way to be independently wealthy)

Well the weekend is hurriedly approaching - I hope each of you finds the rest and relaxing you need over the weekend!