Winter Update, or Where Hope is Currency
The Seitan Scaloppine was a huge success for Christmas Eve. I tripled the recipe (only doubling the sauce) and it looked really impressive on a platter with a little pitcher of sauce. I learned why dredging is important. The cutlets were still damp from steaming and near the end of the second batch I prematurely threw one into the pan. I still have two small burns on my hand from the oil spatter. The things we do for art. Everyone who had some loved it.
This year was different in that the Greenville Rotters' came south this year, making it possible to visit my family and his. They had a really cute idea for an activity: everyone would bring a $5 gift and a song for a Christmas playlist (which would determine who would choose next from the gift collection). I was this close choosing Gaudete by Mediæval Bæbes, but at the last minute I chose a more modern piece by Vienna Teng.
I brought this:
I ended up choosing a small collection of Escher prints, which made me really happy. Cuddles, Vienna Teng, and colored lights. Every evening should be so great.
Christmas morning was the casual affair it always is. I hadn't made it out Christmas Eve before the shops closed so I didn't have any spinach or tofu for the Mushroom-Spinach Strata from Veganomicon. Turned out to be just fine because there would not have been enough room on the table for my contribution anyway. I got pancakes instead; no complaints there. As always, books were the highlight of my load. The one thing I asked for this year was Lick It! Creamy, Dreamy, Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. I'm trying decide which recipe to try first. (Incidentally I've promised to make my mom an ice cream cake.) My family thinks it sounds gross, but I can hardly wait to try out one of the chai recipes.
Tradition dictates a new Uncle John's [adjective] Bathroom Reader be given as well. This year's installment is delightfully on the geeky side with a good section of it devoted to the history of D & D.
We spent New Year's Eve with Adam, Liz, and company. I am terrible at Clue; but champagne, pickles, and Scrabble were consolation enough. Liz made jambalaya for me (DELICIOUS) and it was all so much fun. That night I had one of the cats step on my head and Milo (adorable pug-chihuahua puppy) repeatedly burrow under the covers and retreat to the vicinity of my knees.
The year started off well with a lazy afternoon of hanging out. More pancakes for me! And for everyone else, of course. Ryan and I pretty much killed off the enormous bowl of fruit salad from the previous night.
My only goal for that day was to make it to Guido's Premium Pizza in Okemos, which is the only place in the entire state which has Daiya. We should have gone for a standard pizza instead of the huge Chicago-style one with some crazy toppings. We could hardly taste the cheese which was covered with a chunky tomato sauce inundated with, among other things, jalapeño peppers. It seemed a bit plasticky and Ryan concurred, noting that it reminded him of Velveeta. I'd like to try it again before I make a final decision on it.
We said our farewells after that and it was just the beginning of our own adventure. My car had been making an odd noise for a few days in the vicinity of one of the wheels and I was going to have it looked at that weekend. The noise got much worse on the way back and we called Ryan's brother to see if he had any insight. We concluded that it was probably something with the bearings. If we were careful, we'd make it back just fine. Then, around Brighton, the noise got worse and Ryan thought we might have a flat. I pulled over and he examined them, satisfied that all were intact. We'd go very slowly to the next exit and see where to go from there. I didn't make it 20 feet along the shoulder before my front passenger wheel flew off and rolled down a ditch.
Ryan burst out laughing and I started to cry. The lugs had snapped. We had a feeling the car wouldn't make it through the winter, but what a way for it to go! He retrieved the tire, which had actually rolled up the other side of the ditch. The body panel by the wheel well was bent out of shape, too, from the force of the wheel flying off or from the car sliding briefly along the shoulder. By then I could see the humor, too.
Sometime during our wait for both David and a tow, a state trooper accosted us. The driver's side window hasn't worked for a long time, so I opened the door to speak with him. We explained the situation.
"You can run the heat to stay warm while you wait, you know."
"Not really, there's a pretty bad exhaust leak."
"Right. Besides," I added, "we have blankets in the back."
After he left, Ryan grumbled about him letting out all the heat which had accumulated during our drive. Two of the car's most irritating shortcomings had made their final bow.
Fortunately we didn't have long to wait in the cold. David and the tow truck arrived at about the same time. We joked with the tow truck driver at the nearest collision shop. The rotor from the missing wheel made a slight gauge in the bed.
"Heh, looks like we gave you a matching scratch," Ryan said, gesturing toward two vaguely parallel lines.
"Yeah, my boss wasn't too happy with that one. 'It's an $18,000 vehicle!' 'It's a tow truck.'"
So, here we are. The cost of potential repairs is triple the cost of an optimistic estimate. So for now, I'm using an old 80s-tastic station wagon. At least for the next few months.
Here's to 2010 being better than the previous year. I have two resolutions. First, to write and, second, to eat some dark greens each day.
Well, back to a frantic reread of The Dark is Rising.
This year was different in that the Greenville Rotters' came south this year, making it possible to visit my family and his. They had a really cute idea for an activity: everyone would bring a $5 gift and a song for a Christmas playlist (which would determine who would choose next from the gift collection). I was this close choosing Gaudete by Mediæval Bæbes, but at the last minute I chose a more modern piece by Vienna Teng.
I brought this:
I ended up choosing a small collection of Escher prints, which made me really happy. Cuddles, Vienna Teng, and colored lights. Every evening should be so great.
Christmas morning was the casual affair it always is. I hadn't made it out Christmas Eve before the shops closed so I didn't have any spinach or tofu for the Mushroom-Spinach Strata from Veganomicon. Turned out to be just fine because there would not have been enough room on the table for my contribution anyway. I got pancakes instead; no complaints there. As always, books were the highlight of my load. The one thing I asked for this year was Lick It! Creamy, Dreamy, Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. I'm trying decide which recipe to try first. (Incidentally I've promised to make my mom an ice cream cake.) My family thinks it sounds gross, but I can hardly wait to try out one of the chai recipes.
Tradition dictates a new Uncle John's [adjective] Bathroom Reader be given as well. This year's installment is delightfully on the geeky side with a good section of it devoted to the history of D & D.
We spent New Year's Eve with Adam, Liz, and company. I am terrible at Clue; but champagne, pickles, and Scrabble were consolation enough. Liz made jambalaya for me (DELICIOUS) and it was all so much fun. That night I had one of the cats step on my head and Milo (adorable pug-chihuahua puppy) repeatedly burrow under the covers and retreat to the vicinity of my knees.
The year started off well with a lazy afternoon of hanging out. More pancakes for me! And for everyone else, of course. Ryan and I pretty much killed off the enormous bowl of fruit salad from the previous night.
My only goal for that day was to make it to Guido's Premium Pizza in Okemos, which is the only place in the entire state which has Daiya. We should have gone for a standard pizza instead of the huge Chicago-style one with some crazy toppings. We could hardly taste the cheese which was covered with a chunky tomato sauce inundated with, among other things, jalapeño peppers. It seemed a bit plasticky and Ryan concurred, noting that it reminded him of Velveeta. I'd like to try it again before I make a final decision on it.
We said our farewells after that and it was just the beginning of our own adventure. My car had been making an odd noise for a few days in the vicinity of one of the wheels and I was going to have it looked at that weekend. The noise got much worse on the way back and we called Ryan's brother to see if he had any insight. We concluded that it was probably something with the bearings. If we were careful, we'd make it back just fine. Then, around Brighton, the noise got worse and Ryan thought we might have a flat. I pulled over and he examined them, satisfied that all were intact. We'd go very slowly to the next exit and see where to go from there. I didn't make it 20 feet along the shoulder before my front passenger wheel flew off and rolled down a ditch.
Ryan burst out laughing and I started to cry. The lugs had snapped. We had a feeling the car wouldn't make it through the winter, but what a way for it to go! He retrieved the tire, which had actually rolled up the other side of the ditch. The body panel by the wheel well was bent out of shape, too, from the force of the wheel flying off or from the car sliding briefly along the shoulder. By then I could see the humor, too.
Sometime during our wait for both David and a tow, a state trooper accosted us. The driver's side window hasn't worked for a long time, so I opened the door to speak with him. We explained the situation.
"You can run the heat to stay warm while you wait, you know."
"Not really, there's a pretty bad exhaust leak."
"Right. Besides," I added, "we have blankets in the back."
After he left, Ryan grumbled about him letting out all the heat which had accumulated during our drive. Two of the car's most irritating shortcomings had made their final bow.
Fortunately we didn't have long to wait in the cold. David and the tow truck arrived at about the same time. We joked with the tow truck driver at the nearest collision shop. The rotor from the missing wheel made a slight gauge in the bed.
"Heh, looks like we gave you a matching scratch," Ryan said, gesturing toward two vaguely parallel lines.
"Yeah, my boss wasn't too happy with that one. 'It's an $18,000 vehicle!' 'It's a tow truck.'"
So, here we are. The cost of potential repairs is triple the cost of an optimistic estimate. So for now, I'm using an old 80s-tastic station wagon. At least for the next few months.
Here's to 2010 being better than the previous year. I have two resolutions. First, to write and, second, to eat some dark greens each day.
Well, back to a frantic reread of The Dark is Rising.