Ian's birthday party is over, and the Holiday season is now officially allowed to commence.  To inaugurate this year's festivities, I have applied a lovely holiday theme to the journal, and will now post the traditional favorite story of the season.  Try to read it without tearing up--yeah, right.

Oh, more on Ian's birthday later, but in a ( Read more... )

I'm off to visit family, and hopefully get some well-deserved coddling and fussing over, given our recent roller coaster ride. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and if necessary, is able to kill or otherwise remove from action those who are causing you problems ( Read more... )

I just got a thank you card from the in-laws for our christmas gifts (we didn't get to see them over the holidays).  Becky effused appropriately over her knitted grocery bag, saying that all her friends will be so jealous at the farmer's market (yeah, she knows the way to get right into my heart!).  Pat loves his scarf, which is good.  Then she ( Read more... )

I've now been at my mom's house for 14.5 hours.  So far it's going reasonably well--at least, I'm still in a pretty good mood.  Admittedly, while cooking last night she turned down the burner temp TWICE while I was cooking (maybe you've guessed this by now, but I do in fact know how to cook all by myself), and tried to instruct me on how to vacuuum ( Read more... )

At this moment, we have ( Read more... )

Ruminations on Scrooge

I’m sitting here with The Muppets Christmas Carol playing in the background, which I’m sure is ironic in some pleasant way, and I’m thinking about the character of Scrooge and what he can, or should, teach us.  There is an email listserv I belong to which has, of late, had a “reclaiming Scrooge” thread going.  The idea, as ( Read more... )

When making butter spritz cookies, be sure to use the correct sized tip in your pastry bag.  The tip I used was too small.  This meant that (1) it was amazingly difficult to squeeze the dough out, and my hands both feel like they're going to seize up, and (2) the cookies are all bite-sized, rather than "eating" sized.  Ah well, you live and learn ( Read more... )

http://sassymama.ca/fairytale.mp3

"Fairytale in New York" by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl
"Ah, the sweet song of a sensitive poet who fucked up his life and the lives of everyone he touched.  The kind of person for whom a gambling addiction is a good thing, because it takes time away from his drinking, and any other addictions he had which might've ( Read more... )

Wow, talk about making a purse out of a pig's ear (note to K:  this is not a suggestion, step away from the pig!).  I managed to avert total dinner disaster, and make some really yummy yummy foods.  Okay, let's do this stepwise:

1. Utterly fail at making paneer for Palak Paneer.  NB:  do NOT NOT NOT use ultrapasteurized milk to make paneer.  Heck, if ( Read more... )

Yeah, it's long, but it's worth it.  Thanks to 
( Read more... )