maple-licious
yesterday i made maple cookies for my grandfather, recipe courtesy of terry. if you like maple (which means not you, betty), they're delicious.
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March 30, 2004
March 29, 2004
all the news that's fit to print
a quick bulletin, dateline montpelier:
we have crocuses! (this is last year's picture, but you'll get the idea.) we also still have a thick crust of snow over the majority of the perennial bed, so I can't see whether the dozens of red tulips mom planted have begun to emerge. but today is sunny, with temperatures expected in the high fifties and low sixties, so maybe i'll have an answer for you later this afternoon.
the kitten is still cute. we clipped his claws, and he did not mind. he is now significantly less lethal.
we also have new light bulbs. listen, i realize that doesn't sound like breaking news, but it is. last night at the grocery store, paul found some three-way bulbs whose lowest light is 15 watts — perfect for the den, as i like a little light when we're watching tv. their low setting is low, but their high setting is the same as traditional three-way bulbs (150 watts, i believe), so they're still bright enough to read by. they're perfect.
it's not exactly news, i guess, that i am enough of a dork to get excited over new light bulbs.
i'm sewing the binding on one baby quilt, have pieced another, and will finish piecing yet another a little later today.
this morning i burned myself on the heating element of the toaster oven. there is a tiny patch of barbecue on my left index-finger knuckle. for the moment before i realized what was happening, the kitchen smelled delicious.
wednesday i go to louisiana for a week of grandparents, fried seafood po-boys, and untrammelled hilarity with betty and mom. i must unearth my short-sleeved t-shirts, which otherwise wouldn't see the light of day around here until, oh, mid-may.
that's the news, and i...am...outta here.
March 25, 2004
not shown: thermos, plotting our demise
March 24, 2004
a short review of a million little pieces
a million little pieces
by james frey
five word review:
i'll pass on the crack.
frey's memoir of his time in a drug rehab center is harrowing. the descriptions of his vomit alone are enough to convince me that sniffing glue and freebasing cocaine aren't quite as much fun as they're cracked up to be.
"cracked." ahahahahaha.
frey enters the center at age 23 after a decade of addiction. after blacking out and seriously injuring himself, he finds himself on an airplane bound for rehab with no memory of how he got there, no idea of where he's going. according to the doctors, he's been saved just in time: his body couldn't take any further abuse. another drug experience would probably kill him, they say.
so no drugs for james as he heads off to the dentist to have two root canals. two root canals without anaesthetic of any kind, with only a babar book to steady him.
scared straight yet?
during the months he spends at the center, james meets the requisite crew of colorful characters, vomits blood daily and lovingly describes it, reconciles with his parents, and makes a firm promise to himself never to use again.
with the recidivism rate topping 85%, we know that james faces a difficult future. with his refusal to embrace the principles of twelve-stepping, we learn how slim his chances of recovery are. but with his trip into the rankest of crack houses to save the girl he loves, we begin to believe that he just might make it after all.
i'd write more but i have to go upstairs and tip all the tylenol 3s directly into the toilet. just say no, baby. just say no.
baby. it's what's for dinner.
i sent the sushi quilt out to trixie last week and it arrived just in time for dinner — just in time to make the cutest baby maki you ever did see.
here's a full view of the finished quilt, and a close-up of the blocks.
when not posing cutely as sushi, trixie has adventures and looks adorable.
March 23, 2004
March 18, 2004
"ah, my arch-nemesis. we meet at last."
mooooOOooooOOOOOOoooooo.
the kitten, of course, is utterly unconcerned, and feels that no special caution is in order. when they're together he antagonizes thermos mercilessly, stalking him, springing on him, thrilled to have found something new to bite.
- squaring off face to face
- the kitten, who has no tail, admires thermos's
- "i wonder if this is fun to bite."
- "knock it off, you furry jerk."
- "he won't notice if i just..."
- "rats. he noticed."
March 16, 2004
today's kitten update
so, um, our kitten likes to fetch.
no, really.
i can prove it.
he also likes to sleep in a half-packed box of books from my upstairs office, but that's not quite as cute.
March 15, 2004
yum, cake
rose levy beranbaum's banana cordon rose cake, made possible by a suggestion from terry, a cake pan from tim, a parchment circle from mom, and pistachios from paul.
how we spent the morning
we've had the new kitten for about 18 hours now and already he's been very helpful.
this morning he helped me install some new software. then he decided to organize some magazines. then there was some much-needed rolling around to be taken care of with all deliberate haste.
it tired him right out. even the most helpful kitten needs a nap once in a while.