Back from Bloomington! I went down to see the opera Rodelinda with friends; none of us had ever heard of it, so we all went in with no idea what it was about, and were pleasantly surprised by the super gothic German aesthetic that it had going on. Staircases in a bleak black stage lit with candles on each steps! All the male characters with some ( Read more... )

Last week was a good week in tips, so I decided to treat myself to something from the fancy food store next door - the place with barrels of balsamic vinegar lined up along the walls, and helpful clerks who leap at the chance to let you try as many as you want ( Read more... )

I have come into possession of a pair of bookshelves, so I decided it was time to move my books from my parents' house down to my apartment. And, as I was going to have to get them all off the shelves and box them up anyway, I figured that I might as well sort them.

There were a lot of books.

( All the books! )

There's an artisanal cooking store next to one of the Starbucks where I work (I'm alternating between two now. They just can't get enough of me), and as I got to work a bit early today, I decided to drop by. Just to look around, you know, not to buy anything ( Read more... )

It's snoooooooowing! Or rather, it was snowing earlier, and if there is one thing better than sitting inside toasty warm watching the snow fall outside the window, it is arriving home after a long drive and then being inside toasty warm watching the snow that you are no longer driving through fall ( Read more... )

A couple of photos! On Thanksgiving, my dad and I drove over to the new buffalo reserve to see the buffalo... only the buffalo did not want to be seen. They couldn't be seen from any angle at the buffalo viewing area; they also couldn't be seen as we drove around the reserve. Finally, we saw another car stopped, and we also pulled up there and ( Read more... )

Happy Thanksgiving for my fellow Americans! This has not been a month to inspire much spontaneous gratitude - hell, it hasn't been much of a year for inspiring gratitude - but we did have a very nice duck for dinner, and I have at last discovered a recipe that fills the hole in my heart left by the grocery store that discontinued its peanut butter ( Read more... )

Here are the Christmas cookies that I made for holiday launch:


( Read more... )

I usually write my Wednesday Reading Meme out ahead, as I finish things, but I didn't this week and after the election results I don't have the heart for it; it seems rather pointless ( Read more... )

Today was a mixed day for Reeses. In the morning I went to Dunkin Donuts, intending to get one of their Reeses doughnuts which were amaaaaaaazing, filled with peanut butter with sweet chocolate glaze on top, all in a soft yeast doughnut - but, as the past tense has no doubt warned you, they seem to have been discontinued. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ( Read more... )