WE *MUST* HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I'm still here, feeling a little less gloomy and disillusioned -- probably because the weather has finally cooled off and it's actually been cold -- it even snowed on Christmas!
Nothing interesting to report other than a brief rat scare (I'm not sure they were rats -- I prefer to think they were cute anthropomorphic mice). I hope they found more receptive lodgings down the block and that everyone lived happily ever after. I live in a duplex, and my neighbor and I have recently been talking about "the rat problem" via texts. Which is weird, because we live ONE WALL AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, but we both seem to prefer the distance of texting, I guess. I DID actually start the year off by forcing myself to be more sociable -- I invited him over to try my latest cooking experiment (coq au vin!). We've been neighbors for at least five years, and we've never been in each other's apartment. It turned out that he was sick with the flu and wasn't able to make it, but the fact that I actually tried to be less hermit-like was encouraging. It's a good thing that he was unable to make it, because it took me WAY longer to finish cooking than I thought it would. The whole thing, start to finish, took more than 24 hours! But it was a success!
I've been on a bone-broth-making kick lately and have been making pot after pot of chicken and beef stock. This stuff is amazing. The only drawback is how long it takes and that it stinks up the house for a day or two (especially the beef stock, which smells AWFUL as it's cooking). Still, it's very easy and everyone should do it. I think the smell of the chicken stock that makes me feel a little queasy may be the smell of bay leaves. I tried making the stock without them, and it just wasn't as good. It's kind of a ... for want of a better description ... a very high-pitched smell (in Monty Python terms, it is "tinny" rather that "woody") -- the smell of mint and tarragon also make me feel a little nauseous.
I haven't been out driving around much lately, mainly because it's kind of expensive. So I'll finish this off with a few odds and ends from the past few months that I don't think I've posted here before.
***
I sincerely hope everyone has a good 2013. 2012 will go down as my "lost" year -- the year of extreme isolation and loneliness, filled with far too much introspection and self-analysis. 2013 can only be better. I hope it is for all of us.
***
Abandoned shack near Edom in East Texas, in the middle of tall, tall, TALL trees. I loved this place.
Dilapidation along a farm road near the wonderfully named Cool Junction.
I waited while these fowl moseyed across the road near Millsap.
An unexpected small herd of buffalo, grazing in someone's pasture/front yard, past Cool Junction and Millsap. Conversation-piece pets rather than stock.
An action shot of a squirrel racing down a tree at White Rock Lake in Dallas. Looks stuffed. Isn't.
You see a lot of these around Texas.
The Burger Bar, a tiny walk-up burger place just off the square in Cleburne. It was closed when I was there. Next time! (Oh my god, it was hot that day in September.)
Also in Cleburne, this very pretty church, caddy-corner from the Burger Bar.
Found myself driving through Fort Worth one day and got completely lost. All I know is that this was in a part of town I probably won't be spending a lot of time in. But I love these old industrial buildings.
Dallas Farmers Market. This was at the beginning of December, when temperatures were in the 80s! I always wonder how much of the produce at our farmers market is local. My guess is very little. It makes me wince to see so many vendors selling ... pineapples -- not really one of Texas' cash crops.
This was parked out in front of the farmers market. I LOVE this car. ...Truck. ...Car. And its bed was full of poinsettias. Someone should put that poinsettia-mobile on a Christmas card.
Fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up my cat Stella was standing on my chest, wondering where breakfast was.
Nothing interesting to report other than a brief rat scare (I'm not sure they were rats -- I prefer to think they were cute anthropomorphic mice). I hope they found more receptive lodgings down the block and that everyone lived happily ever after. I live in a duplex, and my neighbor and I have recently been talking about "the rat problem" via texts. Which is weird, because we live ONE WALL AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, but we both seem to prefer the distance of texting, I guess. I DID actually start the year off by forcing myself to be more sociable -- I invited him over to try my latest cooking experiment (coq au vin!). We've been neighbors for at least five years, and we've never been in each other's apartment. It turned out that he was sick with the flu and wasn't able to make it, but the fact that I actually tried to be less hermit-like was encouraging. It's a good thing that he was unable to make it, because it took me WAY longer to finish cooking than I thought it would. The whole thing, start to finish, took more than 24 hours! But it was a success!
I've been on a bone-broth-making kick lately and have been making pot after pot of chicken and beef stock. This stuff is amazing. The only drawback is how long it takes and that it stinks up the house for a day or two (especially the beef stock, which smells AWFUL as it's cooking). Still, it's very easy and everyone should do it. I think the smell of the chicken stock that makes me feel a little queasy may be the smell of bay leaves. I tried making the stock without them, and it just wasn't as good. It's kind of a ... for want of a better description ... a very high-pitched smell (in Monty Python terms, it is "tinny" rather that "woody") -- the smell of mint and tarragon also make me feel a little nauseous.
I haven't been out driving around much lately, mainly because it's kind of expensive. So I'll finish this off with a few odds and ends from the past few months that I don't think I've posted here before.
***
I sincerely hope everyone has a good 2013. 2012 will go down as my "lost" year -- the year of extreme isolation and loneliness, filled with far too much introspection and self-analysis. 2013 can only be better. I hope it is for all of us.
***
Abandoned shack near Edom in East Texas, in the middle of tall, tall, TALL trees. I loved this place.
Dilapidation along a farm road near the wonderfully named Cool Junction.
I waited while these fowl moseyed across the road near Millsap.
An unexpected small herd of buffalo, grazing in someone's pasture/front yard, past Cool Junction and Millsap. Conversation-piece pets rather than stock.
An action shot of a squirrel racing down a tree at White Rock Lake in Dallas. Looks stuffed. Isn't.
You see a lot of these around Texas.
The Burger Bar, a tiny walk-up burger place just off the square in Cleburne. It was closed when I was there. Next time! (Oh my god, it was hot that day in September.)
Also in Cleburne, this very pretty church, caddy-corner from the Burger Bar.
Found myself driving through Fort Worth one day and got completely lost. All I know is that this was in a part of town I probably won't be spending a lot of time in. But I love these old industrial buildings.
Dallas Farmers Market. This was at the beginning of December, when temperatures were in the 80s! I always wonder how much of the produce at our farmers market is local. My guess is very little. It makes me wince to see so many vendors selling ... pineapples -- not really one of Texas' cash crops.
This was parked out in front of the farmers market. I LOVE this car. ...Truck. ...Car. And its bed was full of poinsettias. Someone should put that poinsettia-mobile on a Christmas card.
Fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up my cat Stella was standing on my chest, wondering where breakfast was.