Gary's feeling better, which is my cue to fall prey to his cold. Going to bed extra early last night helped some, but I have a feeling I won't make it past 9:30 tonight either. Which means I'll have to beg off of my dinner night. (Who really wants someone who is sick cooking their food anyway...)

On a bright note, mom is back from her trip on Friday. I didn't expect her until Monday, so I'm excited. My sister's got to babysit Friday night, so it looks like I'll be taking mom home and having to leave work early. Darn.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be less foggy and won't misplace things like I did today.

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Now playing: Polyphony & Stephen Layton - Sleep
via FoxyTunes

The consensus in the household is that brussels sprouts are liked better than butternut squash. Again, no leftovers, though, so at least I don't have to worry about dealing with those.

I'm usually quite a night owl, but tonight I'm pondering sleep before 9:30. Being surrounded by sick people, it's probably not a bad idea. Well, maybe after we're done watching Passport to Europe.

I know Gary's feeling better - he's harrassing Kalvin again! (If Kalvin could speak, the language wouldn't be fit for mixed company, I think...)

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Now playing: Orkney Sessions at the Reel - Dark Island
via FoxyTunes

Today was one of those days that makes you wonder why there is such a thing as working indoors. Warm, but not too much so. Sunny. A very light wind. And totally clear for the first time in a week. The rain makes me appreciate the sun...and the sun the rain.

I feel pretty lucky, though. Kalvin gets to come to work with me, and he has a backyard to hang out in if he doesn't feel like laying quietly by my feet or taking a nap in the kitchen. And I get to have fuzz therapy anytime I need it.

It sounds like Gary's left to go home early, so tonight I'll make sure the sicky is laying low so he feels better quickly. Soup and hot bread and a movie should be just the thing.

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Now playing: August Rush - August's Rhapsody
via FoxyTunes

After a leisurely morning and an early afternoon spent figuring out what is for dinner for the next week (and who was cooking it), my sister, Gary and I spent the rest of the afternoon traveling from store to store gathering ingredients - 4 stores in all. Really makes me wish that there was one store that had everything, but when you're looking for ground mace and ham hocks, sometimes only a large chain grocery store will have it.

Tonight's dinner was the fabulous Pasta with Hashed Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts. I was a bit worried - I know that I like brussels sprouts, but I was unsure of everyone else. Not that I need worry. Everyone literally licked their plate clean. Even my sister who doesn't like nuts (though she likes pine nuts, I've now been informed) ate every last morsel. Much maligned vegetable, indeed! Tomorrow night's dinner is Apple and Butternut Squash Soup that I am currently let simmer, mostly because it saves me from having to cook soup after getting home (with the bonus that the soup tastes better the next day...and the day after that). I bought a baguette today that I'll serve with it. Mmm. Dinner. It'll be hard not to take part of it for lunch, too!

Later this week, I plan on roasting a chicken. That means that I should have leftovers for chicken sandwiches with herbed mayo. If I can remember to grab them in the morning, the best part about cooking is the leftovers...when there is any!


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Now playing: Lothlorien - Schottische Fran Havero
via FoxyTunes

I think this is the first chance I've had all day to sit down. Aside from my trip to pick up Gary at the airport, I've spent all day cleaning up. Small though it may seem, I think the biggest accomplishment was wading through my jewelry to find all my mismatched earrings and return them to their mate. I suppose they get that way when someone other than the owner packs them up to be moved. (Yes, for the record, they've been like that since last May.)

Since Gary's sick and probably going to crawl into bed, it's probably a good time to pick through my cookbooks and latest inspirations on Orangette to make a menu/shopping list for the next week or so. Honestly, it feels a lot like Sunday to me, so I still can't believe my good fortune that I don't have to work tomorrow. It's supposed to rain tomorrow - again - so I'm looking forward to a morning of sleeping late and waking up to the sound of rain dripping from the eaves...and not having to drive to work in it.

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Now playing: Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Ladyfingers (Camara Kambon Remix)
via FoxyTunes

My sister got engaged on Valentine's Day. Of course I'm completely ecstatic for her...except for the fact that she is now off the hook with the relatives. Up until now I've been able to dodge the "so when are you getting married" question, even though I'm the older sibling. I simply smiled and pointed to my sister and mentioned that she'd been together with her boyfriend longer than I have with mine. Now? Now I have no defense except to smile mysteriously and murmur something about 'someday, maybe.'

They're talking next spring...which also doesn't bode well for my moratorium on moving again for a year (after moving twice in less than a year). The thought of moving actually sends me into a panic. My stuff is currently scattered hither and yon - the condo, the storage unit, the office/house-where-I-used-to-live... I have to admit, though, the one bright spot is that I would have all my pots, pans, and kitchen what-have-yous back in one place so I could cook properly again. (No more rummaging through my sister's cupboards for thyme or olive oil before having to traipse downstairs to the garage to dig through my box of spices and oils to find what I need.) Maybe I'd even get to spread back out again and banish some of the electronics from the bedroom!

Who knows what the next year holds...maybe Gary and I will end up in a little house with a little yard where we can plant a few bulbs and rose bushes and a lime tree (and he can make sure they actually get watered...hee!)

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Now playing: Gavin DeGraw - I Don't Want to Be
via FoxyTunes

1. Orangette: Makes me want to cook more than ramen noodles and popcorn again. She talks of food with intimate knowledge of how tastes combine, of what is in season from the local farmer's market...as if each food item were an old friend. I can only aspire to pay enough attention to learn to cook without recipes, and to modify recipes without worrying whether it will turn out or not. Even if you don't like to cook, it's a worthy read - she's a great writer.

2. Rock band: (Thanks a lot, Jason!) It's terribly addicting, and while numbing my brain to rock music, the synapses in my brain sparked a little bit. I think there's something there that might actually help me with my "real" music. I've never had music theory, so the thought of just jamming and soloing around chords escapes me. But this...hm. We shall see. Must. play. more. (Just to help me play my other instruments. Of course!)

3. Kaki King: I first heard her music on the sountrack to August Rush (yet another thing I have absolutely adored as of late), and it brought me back to fingerstyle guitar and Michael Hedges. I found Hedges' album Arial Boundaries on iTunes and instantly was thinking of my Dad who played it all the time. Something about the percussiveness of the guitar style these two play speaks to me.

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Now playing: Rich Price - Love Come Back
via FoxyTunes

(transferred from my MySpace blog)

It's been harder and harder lately to keep my blog updated - it's not just updating the blog, but updating the software too since I have been hosting it on my own site. Plus, it's missing all the cool stuff like FoxyTunes! So, I'm moving things here and hoping I'll keep it updated more.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to Gary being home from skiing in Colorado tomorrow...except for the fact that he got sick while there.

Tonight finds my sister and I playing Rock Band and eating cereal for dinner. So much for my food inspiration from Orangette. Maybe next week.

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Now playing: Art Garfunkel - Everthing Waits to Be Noticed
via FoxyTunes