Death, Taxes, and Seedcake
Easter Sunday we made a sweet brisket and potatoes and brought it up to Alexandra's place. It was a bittersweet day -- funny stories mixed with reminiscing about David. S. showed up unexpectedly (well, unexpectedly to us, anyway -- luckily there was enough food), and that was how I learned about another death. Not a close friend this time, not really, but someone I knew and admired from the vintage dance community. I'd known he was ill but not that he'd actually gone. Strange to think of him staying still long enough to die.
This morning I leaned that Kurt Vonnegut is dead. I never actually met him, but I did see him at a book launch party once, where I was too shy to approach him. I think I was afraid I'd just fangirl all over him and make a fool of myself, then have nothing else to say, which is actually why I tend to avoid celebrity types in general.
This week I tackle that other inevitability -- my tax return. Taxes are a pain when you live in one state and work in another because you have to file for both states, and since NY and NJ calculate their taxable income slightly differently I can't just say, "Sorry NJ, I make all my money in NY so you get nothing." A rebate would be nice; I could use it to knock down that stupid PSE&G bill, or put it toward the wedding fund.
Finally, on a happier note, darthsatyr made seedcake to celebrate the end of Passover. (We also ordered pizza, to celebrate both that and the return of the Philly cheesesteak pizza.) He used an adapted medieval recipe, and we learned that the "seed" in seedcake refers not to the grain used but to spices used to flavor it. He made two, one of which came out rather dense due to yeast being tricksy critters, but both were tasty. One was flavored with cardamom, the other with coriander.
So, to sum up my week: cake good, death and taxes less good. Please, universe, stop with the death for a while. Let us have cake.
This morning I leaned that Kurt Vonnegut is dead. I never actually met him, but I did see him at a book launch party once, where I was too shy to approach him. I think I was afraid I'd just fangirl all over him and make a fool of myself, then have nothing else to say, which is actually why I tend to avoid celebrity types in general.
This week I tackle that other inevitability -- my tax return. Taxes are a pain when you live in one state and work in another because you have to file for both states, and since NY and NJ calculate their taxable income slightly differently I can't just say, "Sorry NJ, I make all my money in NY so you get nothing." A rebate would be nice; I could use it to knock down that stupid PSE&G bill, or put it toward the wedding fund.
Finally, on a happier note, darthsatyr made seedcake to celebrate the end of Passover. (We also ordered pizza, to celebrate both that and the return of the Philly cheesesteak pizza.) He used an adapted medieval recipe, and we learned that the "seed" in seedcake refers not to the grain used but to spices used to flavor it. He made two, one of which came out rather dense due to yeast being tricksy critters, but both were tasty. One was flavored with cardamom, the other with coriander.
So, to sum up my week: cake good, death and taxes less good. Please, universe, stop with the death for a while. Let us have cake.