Went to the horse races with T last night – that’s right, the horse races. And I have to say I was disappointed. I thought it was going to be an Adventure, but it turned out to be Good Clean Family Fun. There were all sorts of families there, it was clean and spacious, the horses looked well cared for... but all in all, it was still fun in that look-at-the-horses-go, State-Fair-people watching, only-costs-$1 kind of way.
We ate the first bounty from our garden - tomatoes and basil drenched with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and cucumbers in sweetened vinegar. Yum.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Danger! Holiday on the horizon
Although my vacation is still a week and a half away I am getting giddy with excitement.* We're going up to Ely for a week - we'll have five days by ourselves (including our 2-year anniversary!) and then our friends M, B, G, and F are coming up for the weekend. Hurrah! Then we come back for a few days then go to D.C. to visit our wonderful friend, partner in crime, and urusai gaijin forever, J. I have not been to D.C. before, I realize that I am in the minority on this. Everyone seems so universally infatuated with D.C. (oh you must go here and eat there and oh! oh!...) that I think I'm in for a good time.**
*At the same time, I'm trying not to get too excited like I do sometimes and then when I get to the actually event (Christmas is a good example) I feel deflated because it isn't as fun as I thought it would be... and I realize that sometimes the anticipation of the event is more fun than the event itself. So I must l-o-w-e-r my expectations.
** Per item above, amend to "an OK time."
*At the same time, I'm trying not to get too excited like I do sometimes and then when I get to the actually event (Christmas is a good example) I feel deflated because it isn't as fun as I thought it would be... and I realize that sometimes the anticipation of the event is more fun than the event itself. So I must l-o-w-e-r my expectations.
** Per item above, amend to "an OK time."
Monday, July 26, 2004
A gorgeous weekend, lemon-dill salad, and free purses from Kate
What a lovely weekend! Gorgeous weather. Friday I shopped a bit, then husband and I had coffee afternoon at the local coffeeshop before he took off for his play and I for the wedding I attended. Husband and I walked downtown Saturday, ending up at a nice little lunch on patio overlooking city. Later that night we met friends for drinks on different bar patio later. Sunday we took a long bike ride and then walked to the local coffee shop... that evening I went to a going away/housewarming party while he did his play. A very active, very sunny and nice weekend. Husband and I realized that we haven't used our weekends to the fullest lately, so we made the most of this one.
It was also a good weekend for going to social events by myself. Although small talk was a bit hard at times, and dancing alone is lonely, it was a good experience.
Recipe: Summer lemon-dill salad
Cook 2/3 cup bulger in 1 cup hot water and 1 T lemon juice until water is absorbed. Mix bulger with 2/3 cup chopped cucumber, 2/3 cup garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup chopped celery (or adjust to your liking, it doesn't really matter). Stir 2 T lemon juice, 2 T olive oil, 1 t. dill, and some salt together, and toss with bulger mixture. Yum!
Reading: The Saskiad, one of Nancy Pearl's recommendations, a bit odd but intriguing. Love, lost, and what I wore a very cute little book that tells a bit about a woman's life through sketches of clothing that she wore. And I skimmed Kate Spade's Manners and Occasions, which prompted me to have a dream where I interviewed Kate, and she turned out to be younger and much sillier, but she gave me a free purse, which was great.
It was also a good weekend for going to social events by myself. Although small talk was a bit hard at times, and dancing alone is lonely, it was a good experience.
Recipe: Summer lemon-dill salad
Cook 2/3 cup bulger in 1 cup hot water and 1 T lemon juice until water is absorbed. Mix bulger with 2/3 cup chopped cucumber, 2/3 cup garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup chopped celery (or adjust to your liking, it doesn't really matter). Stir 2 T lemon juice, 2 T olive oil, 1 t. dill, and some salt together, and toss with bulger mixture. Yum!
Reading: The Saskiad, one of Nancy Pearl's recommendations, a bit odd but intriguing. Love, lost, and what I wore a very cute little book that tells a bit about a woman's life through sketches of clothing that she wore. And I skimmed Kate Spade's Manners and Occasions, which prompted me to have a dream where I interviewed Kate, and she turned out to be younger and much sillier, but she gave me a free purse, which was great.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
The two cardinal rules of weddings
B's two cardinal rules of weddings:
1. During the ceremony, particularly as the bride processes and meets the groom, someone - preferably the bride and or groom, but at least the mother or father of the bride or an attendant - must cry. If no one's crying, it doesn't feel right, like they don't understand the significance of what they are about to undertake. The more people crying the better, but no sobbing.
2. When the officiant says "You may now kiss the bride," it better be a good kiss, and by good kiss, I mean there better be some tongue. None of these series of small smooches... you just got married, for god's sake, have at it.
Ever since I got married, I really enjoy weddings. Before I got married, I would think about what I would do differently. Now that mine is over and I know how hard they are and in particular how impossible it is to please everyone, I love weddings to bits, and enjoy everything about them - even the parts that I would never do.
1. During the ceremony, particularly as the bride processes and meets the groom, someone - preferably the bride and or groom, but at least the mother or father of the bride or an attendant - must cry. If no one's crying, it doesn't feel right, like they don't understand the significance of what they are about to undertake. The more people crying the better, but no sobbing.
2. When the officiant says "You may now kiss the bride," it better be a good kiss, and by good kiss, I mean there better be some tongue. None of these series of small smooches... you just got married, for god's sake, have at it.
Ever since I got married, I really enjoy weddings. Before I got married, I would think about what I would do differently. Now that mine is over and I know how hard they are and in particular how impossible it is to please everyone, I love weddings to bits, and enjoy everything about them - even the parts that I would never do.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
One toe or two (the gratuitous link version)
Walking into the salon is like walking into Cheers or the Italian restaurants you see on TV. If we were not Midwestern we would all kiss each others' cheeks and coo. Sinking my feet into the tub of hot water, even in July, is heavenly (gokuraku-gokuraku, and my host mom would say in Japan). Soon my feet emerge one by one, and are scrubbed, filed, and massaged, the nails trimmed and buffed. Little piggies indeed. They are plunged into a bowl of hot wax three times and emerge resembling something from the Scooby Doo and the Wax Museum episode I saw as a kid. Bagged and bootied, they cool, then are stripped of the wax in one clean pull and the nails are painted like pink jelly beans that a misguided kid might try to eat (color: It's All Greek to Me).
In pedicure row there is always the business woman still wearing her suit getting her nails repainted at her regular appointment. The A-type brings her Blackberry and memos, the B-type looks as if she needs a secretary to remind her of her appointments but remarks that her daughter will move into a new apartment next weekend "so of course she needs a pedicure," without any intention of being funny or dramatic. There is also always the average middle-aged woman sitting quietly by herself; she always looks lonely. My mom and I breeze in wearing stylish work clothes and matching flip-flops in an attractive natural weave with gold (her) or dark brown (me) straps.
Eating: Nectarine
Reading: Honeymoon to Nowhere by Akimitsu Takagi and a collection of ghost stories by Edith Wharton.
Glenda the good list: friend F, for cleaning up our computer and fixing my computer game, enabling hours of good clean fun.
In pedicure row there is always the business woman still wearing her suit getting her nails repainted at her regular appointment. The A-type brings her Blackberry and memos, the B-type looks as if she needs a secretary to remind her of her appointments but remarks that her daughter will move into a new apartment next weekend "so of course she needs a pedicure," without any intention of being funny or dramatic. There is also always the average middle-aged woman sitting quietly by herself; she always looks lonely. My mom and I breeze in wearing stylish work clothes and matching flip-flops in an attractive natural weave with gold (her) or dark brown (me) straps.
Eating: Nectarine
Reading: Honeymoon to Nowhere by Akimitsu Takagi and a collection of ghost stories by Edith Wharton.
Glenda the good list: friend F, for cleaning up our computer and fixing my computer game, enabling hours of good clean fun.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Monday pick a mix
Reading: Nothing! No books came in at the library so I had to seek alternative entertainment. I reread a bit of Fumiko Enchi's The Masks and finished perusing Book Lust.
Eating: perfect Sopranos-worthy spaghetti, with basil and oregano from our garden (for which husband takes the credit, but still.)
Thinking about: why I'm constantly making pithy little lists instead of real entries here where I actually write something; why I left the carob-covered raisins at home and didn't bring them for an afternoon snack; my aunt, and how every illness or complication seems to find her, and how much her life has been shaped by that.
Weekend highlights: luxurious Friday afternoon shopping, early dinner with parents, nice run through the park, pleasant cooking and movie watching for one on Sunday evening, a few nice chats with friends.
Looking forward to: Thai food with the in-laws tonight, pedicures with mom tomorrow, free bubble tea and shiatsu at neighborhood fest Wednesday. Two friends who want to get together, possibly for walks around the lakes.
Eating: perfect Sopranos-worthy spaghetti, with basil and oregano from our garden (for which husband takes the credit, but still.)
Thinking about: why I'm constantly making pithy little lists instead of real entries here where I actually write something; why I left the carob-covered raisins at home and didn't bring them for an afternoon snack; my aunt, and how every illness or complication seems to find her, and how much her life has been shaped by that.
Weekend highlights: luxurious Friday afternoon shopping, early dinner with parents, nice run through the park, pleasant cooking and movie watching for one on Sunday evening, a few nice chats with friends.
Looking forward to: Thai food with the in-laws tonight, pedicures with mom tomorrow, free bubble tea and shiatsu at neighborhood fest Wednesday. Two friends who want to get together, possibly for walks around the lakes.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Where I fantasize about the perfect bed linens...
Watched: In America, which I really enjoyed; amazing kids. It also made me want to paint my walls. Spiderman, fun but Tobey Maguire always comes off as if he's mentally lacking. Sopranos, finished the first season and started the second - makes me want to eat pasta and be a bad-ass.
Current obsession: whitening whites and purchasing new bedlinens. I wish I could say that I was kidding, but it's true.
Embarrassment of the day: Husband let it slip that he told fellow actor J and his girlfriend about how I find J attractive. I feel like some lecherous wife eyeing younger men. I don't think I'll be see husband's play again soon.
Strange moment of day: lining up with what had to be nearly 100 people at expensive fashionable furniture store outlet, waiting for it to open. Trying not to giggle as the masses rushed in to claim their furniture and thrust their hands triumphantly in the air to register their ownership with the salesperson. We left 10 minutes after the store opened, not finding what we were looking for, and were right behind a couple with a trailer that had already located, paid for, and loaded a really attractive orangish couch.
Well, I'm off to wash and at least rotate the bed linens in an attempt to giving a feeling of new-ness.
Current obsession: whitening whites and purchasing new bedlinens. I wish I could say that I was kidding, but it's true.
Embarrassment of the day: Husband let it slip that he told fellow actor J and his girlfriend about how I find J attractive. I feel like some lecherous wife eyeing younger men. I don't think I'll be see husband's play again soon.
Strange moment of day: lining up with what had to be nearly 100 people at expensive fashionable furniture store outlet, waiting for it to open. Trying not to giggle as the masses rushed in to claim their furniture and thrust their hands triumphantly in the air to register their ownership with the salesperson. We left 10 minutes after the store opened, not finding what we were looking for, and were right behind a couple with a trailer that had already located, paid for, and loaded a really attractive orangish couch.
Well, I'm off to wash and at least rotate the bed linens in an attempt to giving a feeling of new-ness.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
On the Mighty Mississippi
Yesterday I paddled fifteen miles of the mighty Mississippi with old canoeing pals A and N, as part of N's mom's six-week trip. It was just like old times - the big, wide river spread out before us, cracking jokes and paddling gondola-style, pee breaks on the sandbars, munching gorp and passing around the Nalgene... Reliving the glory days of our own six-week trip in the Canadian wild and catching up. It was as if the eight years hadn't gone by.
We discussed the possibility and then the details of the ten-year reunion trip. What would it be like for the five of us pile into our canoes again and set off into the wild? Could we handle sleeping spoon-style in the Eureka every night? Wouldn't we miss our significant others too much? We'd have to be committed - and fit - and crazy -to pull it off.
Pissed list: NO-AD gel sunscreen (leaves a sticky film that won't rinse away). Dehydration headaches (I can hit my own head with a brick, thank you very much).
Glenda the good list: Husband (won major points serving as car relay lackey yesterday. All the work, none of the fun). Indian food (mmm - and with water a handy cure for the headache).
Drinking: small pot of Good Earth original caffeine-free. Quote: The tribute to learning is teaching - Wise Saying from the Orient. Eating: Will Steger's gorp - from the North Pole to my mouth!
We discussed the possibility and then the details of the ten-year reunion trip. What would it be like for the five of us pile into our canoes again and set off into the wild? Could we handle sleeping spoon-style in the Eureka every night? Wouldn't we miss our significant others too much? We'd have to be committed - and fit - and crazy -to pull it off.
Pissed list: NO-AD gel sunscreen (leaves a sticky film that won't rinse away). Dehydration headaches (I can hit my own head with a brick, thank you very much).
Glenda the good list: Husband (won major points serving as car relay lackey yesterday. All the work, none of the fun). Indian food (mmm - and with water a handy cure for the headache).
Drinking: small pot of Good Earth original caffeine-free. Quote: The tribute to learning is teaching - Wise Saying from the Orient. Eating: Will Steger's gorp - from the North Pole to my mouth!
Monday, July 12, 2004
Monday update - the concise version
Read/ing: Book Lust by Nancy Pearl(an unbelievable collection of recommended reading) and How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer (I usually don't read short story collections, but this one was excellent.) Listening to The Age of Henry VIII by Dale Hoak.
Seen: Two performances of Measure for Measure.
Drinking: Small pot of genmai tea.
Thinking about: friendships - how much you should have in common, and how strange it is that many of my friends don't share some of my most important values; blogging, how selfish it is.
Seen: Two performances of Measure for Measure.
Drinking: Small pot of genmai tea.
Thinking about: friendships - how much you should have in common, and how strange it is that many of my friends don't share some of my most important values; blogging, how selfish it is.
Friday, July 09, 2004
The good, the bad, and the embarrassing
Embarrassment of the day: Sending a response to a "please reply off-list" email to everyone on the listserv... and then having that person respond personally to me, still on the listserv. Damn. Want to hide under my desk. They have mock awards for people like me.
I just realized I made another egregious error. This blog should be title "I want my bike." I have remembered the quote wrong. Even thought it's incorrect, I prefer the current title. Double damn.
Watched: Coupling , 2nd season, episodes 1 & 2. Brilliant. The Junior Patrick...what can I say?
On Glenda the good list: Friday afternoons off, cheeseburgers
On the pissed list: Myself (see above), vines (they've declared war on our lilac hedge, creepy bastards)
Today, I leave you with this thought: Don't you realize? The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what's right for them. Because it's their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket.
I just realized I made another egregious error. This blog should be title "I want my bike." I have remembered the quote wrong. Even thought it's incorrect, I prefer the current title. Double damn.
Watched: Coupling , 2nd season, episodes 1 & 2. Brilliant. The Junior Patrick...what can I say?
On Glenda the good list: Friday afternoons off, cheeseburgers
On the pissed list: Myself (see above), vines (they've declared war on our lilac hedge, creepy bastards)
Today, I leave you with this thought: Don't you realize? The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what's right for them. Because it's their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
4th of July recap
The expected:
1. Excellent food, the addition of 5 lbs
2. Swimming, bonfires, fireworks, sun
3. Good times had by all
The unexpected:
1. Visitors Cloud, Rain, and Wind
2. Poison Ivy
3. A two-hour trip to the emergency room (unrelated to item 2.)
and the good unexpected:
4. A surprise visit from husband, whose play was rained out and drove up for the night
Read: Under the Banner of Heaven (interesting bit of Mormon history and modern-day polygamy), Mosquito (the name says it all, nonfiction). Watching: Whale Rider (in progress, but really enjoying it).
1. Excellent food, the addition of 5 lbs
2. Swimming, bonfires, fireworks, sun
3. Good times had by all
The unexpected:
1. Visitors Cloud, Rain, and Wind
2. Poison Ivy
3. A two-hour trip to the emergency room (unrelated to item 2.)
and the good unexpected:
4. A surprise visit from husband, whose play was rained out and drove up for the night
Read: Under the Banner of Heaven (interesting bit of Mormon history and modern-day polygamy), Mosquito (the name says it all, nonfiction). Watching: Whale Rider (in progress, but really enjoying it).
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Let the games begin
This weekend: Grand adventures in the North Woods.
Itinerary:
10:00 Rise
12:00 Beer season officially opens
1:00 Dock/boat time (weather permitting)(rain site: shops)
2:00 Pina coladas (weather permitting)(rain site: more beer)
4:00 Nap
5:30 Cocktail hour: Bloody Marys and snacks
7:00 Dinner (including grilled item, patriotically-colored dessert)
8:00 Vodka tonics, Rum and diets begin
8:30 Vicious battle of wits (game time)
1:00 Lights out
Itinerary:
10:00 Rise
12:00 Beer season officially opens
1:00 Dock/boat time (weather permitting)(rain site: shops)
2:00 Pina coladas (weather permitting)(rain site: more beer)
4:00 Nap
5:30 Cocktail hour: Bloody Marys and snacks
7:00 Dinner (including grilled item, patriotically-colored dessert)
8:00 Vodka tonics, Rum and diets begin
8:30 Vicious battle of wits (game time)
1:00 Lights out
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