Provençal Roasted Turkey

The Boy said that this was the best turkey EVER! As Heinous said, "This one just must have been the uber turkey. Sadly though, you may never surpass it." He's probably right. In fact, I know he's right. I'll go down in family Thanksgiving history as making the best turkey ever but will never be able to repeat it.

I may never surpass it but that doesn't mean that you can't take a shot at it.What have you got to lose. It's turkey! It's cheap! There is no great investment here with the exception of time and really that is not even that bad. I painted, read blogs, showered (our guests appreciated this), cleaned the guest bath (another appreciated thing. Is there a hostess of the year award? I should get one for this.), and basically screwed around between basting. Yeah, Yeah, I could have been setting the table, prepping the other accompanying dishes, making some starters, and chilling the wine (oh wait, I have a wine refrigerator. Best purchase last year. Do you think I could take this off on my taxes? Maybe as a work expense? I need wine to work!) but I didn't, Okay. I would much prefer to waste time then scurry around at the last minute.

This recipe calls for Herbes de Provence. Please don't be intimidated. Just because it has a frenchified name doesn't mean it's fancy. It can be picked up at most grocery stores. I refuse to make anything that has to be purchased at a specialty store, for a couple of reasons.

1. It's not cheap. If I'm anything I'm cheap. It's a throw back gene from my Scots Great-grandpa from Missouri.(He was so cheap he would hitchhike to St Louis rather than drive his own vehicle. He also wouldn't let my Grandmother, his DIL, wash his clothes everyday because washing them wears them out)

2. I'm lazy. If I had to drive to a specialty store to pick up 1 thing I would be exhausted. Much too exhausted to actually cook. I'd rather adapt a recipe than actually put out any effort.

Provençal Roasted Turkey

Adapted from a recipe from Williams-Sonoma – Grilling & Roasting

12# Turkey, or there abouts

2 Onions, each onion chopped into 8 large pieces

3 carrots, peeled & chopped into large pieces

4 stalks celery, chopped in large pieces.

1 lemon, halved or a couple of big squirts of lemon juice

Seasoning Paste:

3 tablespoons Herbes de Provence

1 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley or ½ cup dried parsley

1 medium sized Sweet Onion

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 cup oil packed black olives or 1 jar of olive tapenade

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165 C). Scatter the chopped carrot, celery and onions in the bottom of a large roasting pan with lid. Set a rack over the vegetables.

Rinse the turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the inside with the lemon, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

To make the seasoning paste, in a food processor, combine the sweet onion, parsley, olives, herbes de Provence, and pepper. Pulse until evenly chopped but not smooth; set aside. (I cheated. I’m lazy. So sue me. I used a jar of olive tapenade instead of the oil packed olives and minced the onion by hand.)

Carefully slide your fingers under the skin on the turkey breast, separating it from the flesh but leaving it attached on the sides. Spread the seasoning paste under the skin, in the wing sockets, and inside the cavity. Brush the skin with the olive oil and set the turkey on the rack.

Roast covered until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Approximately 3 ½ hours. After the first hour baste with butter. I used 1 full cube (sure I could have melted it and gone all gourmet but that's just not going to happen. I just took the whole cube and let the heat of the bird melt it. I'm just so fancy). At the second hour brush drippings to baste. Uncover when temperature reaches 180 degrees, turn on broiler. Crisp the skin under the broiling. Take out of the oven and let sit 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

* If you use a bigger turkey be sure to make more of the paste.

** I didn’t actually have any paste left to stuff in the cavity of the bird. I just squirted in some lemon juice and called it good. You could stuff lemons and onions up the turkey's butt if you feel the need.

*** I roasted the turkey just like I would if I had stuffed it. I just cut the time down. If you do the whole lemons and onion thing you’ll want to add some time.

**** A good thermometer is a must with poultry. It's that whole salmonella thing. I have a digital one with a timer and an alarm. It’s really cool. It fulfills my cooking and geek needs.

With Christmas coming up some of you may want to do another turkey. If so, you may want to give this a try. I will. If only to see if lightening will strike twice.

Love,

M

Late Friday Frenzy

I have a couple to things to rant about but not enough for a whole post. You know how it is. Bits and pieces of ideas, thoughts, and worries are wondering around your cranium with no place to go. Since, my cranium is a little empty right now these things are sort of bouncing uncontrollably. There is nothing worse than uncontrolled worry bounce.


First stupid rant: I was asked to be the keynote speaker at a conference in March. March 20th to be exact. This is not a problem. (Oh sure, it is the day after my 26th wedding anniversary which I won't be home for since I'll be on a plane to Indiana. JR doesn't mind. I'm not kidding about this! He really doesn't mind when I go out of town. Because, whenever I go out of town him and the boy go out for meat. Lots and Lots of meat. They look forward to it. It is a highlight for them. They make it sound like they never get meat. Liars! They had meat last night and tonight. In fact, I made them turkey jambalaya )

Sorry that is a whole other rant. Back to the speaking thingy. I'm honored to be asked to speak. Honestly, I am. The thought that a group wants me to talk at their conference is like so cool. What I can't understand is why. I'm not that interesting. Really! I'm not. This is the third librarian/archivist group that has asked me to speak at their conferences in 2009. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole thing.

Because, I am majorly neurotic I've started to stress about these speaking events. Crap! I've got a month and a half before the first one and I'm starting to make myself sick. I can see that Xanax is going to be my friend for a while; that and wine. Oh wait, wine is already my friend. When does wine become a crutch? I need to know. Truly, I do. I want to go to the line and stay there for about six months.

Second stupid rant: I have to write a bio about myself for another speaking event it 2 weeks. How do you say who you are, what you do, and why they should listen to you without sounding pompous, narcissistic, or stupid? Or all of these things at the same time. This is a question I've been asking myself for a week now.

Third stupid rant: According to the boy I made the best turkey he has EVER eaten. He is 23 years old. He has only been eating turkey for 22 years. Have I been making crappy turkeys for so long? Not according to JR but then he loves me and he knows that if he bad mouths my food I'll do 1 of 2 things. Stop cooking or stop putting out. Either one sucks for him. So his opinion is biased and can not be accepted as fact. I will post this recipe later (In time for that Christmas turkey that most people I know are obligated to conjure up). Not because the boy liked it so well but because our other guests liked it also. I'd never pass off a piss poor recipe to you all.

That is about all I've got for now. I could torture you some more but that last glass of Columbia Crest, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is making me bit sleepy or it could be that I've had a hard week. Excuses, Excuses!


Love,
Michele

I had nothing until the coffeemaker exploded

Yep, it did.

JR and I have one of those coffeemakers that grinds the beans then makes the coffee in the morning with a handy dandy timer feature. I was under the mistaken belief that the timer feature was the most important part of the coffeemaker. That made sense to me. There must have lots of parts and pieces inside that life-giving timer feature.

Not so!

It seems that there is this little part that goes over the grounds that is the most important part.

Who knew?

Not us.

We found this out this morning. The hard way. If you leave this tiny part off by accident the thing explodes and spews those heavenly grounds of coffee goodness all over your kitchen with a fair bit of water to boot. Nice!

I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw myself onto the coffee ground muddy floor and throw the mother of all tantrums complete with beating fists and feet. Sure, this would have been immature. But, that's me immature.

Instead I cleaned the coffeemaker, the kitchen area around the coffeemaker, the kitchen floor, and JR's attempts to clean the coffeemaker, and started a fresh pot. All without any coffee! I. Need. COFFEE! Coffee = Consciousness.

This morning just capped off an absolutely hellish week that I foresee not getting any better.

And, what shows up in my mailbox? Catalogs. My favorite catalogs. These little beauties are the only bright spot in an otherwise crappy week.

We all know I like this one.

But, this is my all-time fav.or.ite catalog ever!
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store catalog.
This catalog is not safe in this house.

While thumbing through this last night I thought; "this reminds me of one of my blog pals". I wasn't thinking of what I wanted out of them but what my blog friends would like. It's the season I tell you. Time to think of others first. I only dogeared a couple of pages for myself. Not more than a half dozen or so. I'll feature a few. If your feeling left out, don't. I'll get to you over the weekend.

Shoe ornaments? Mary Anna of course.

Musical instruments? Jen, Casey, the Capt. and Jim.
Cuz, I'm getting into my grandmother years and we can give these types of things. Then refuse to allow them into our own house. We're old. We need peace and quiet.

Oh and a little something for me.
Around the neck wine glass holder.
Now, I can hold 3 glasses at the same time.
How cool is that?


Happy Thanksgiving

Love,
M

My Thankful Spin or where I get all sentimental and maudlin

This week's spin from Sprite's Keeper is thankfulness.

In these economic and dangerous times it is hard to stay thankful, or upbeat, or any of those other happy and gay (be nice) things. Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to get a whole lot better real soon. Maybe, that's just the menopause talking. When it talks around this house people listen! You Will Listen, Damn it!

Sorry, the scary menopause voice in my head sometimes escape.

If our parents and grandparents could weather the Great Depression than I guess we can weather this time also. I thought this weekend I'd pull out the cookbooks, gardening books, and helpful hints books that I have cluttering up my home and office. I'd spend some time picking out those things that I think may be still relevant to post. I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn from the past. As George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," let's not repeat it.

Is this something you'd be interested in? If so, give a shout out.

So onto this week's spin;

I'm thankful for.....

1. JR (for about a billion-gazillion reasons but all of them boil down to the fact that he loves me even though I can be a neurotic menopausal mess right now.)

2. The Boys (for just being around and making it so easy to be their mom. I mean really! With my mile-wide lazy streak these kids had to pretty much fend for themselves. Ask them about junk night and forage day.)

3. The Girl-in-Law (she reminds me everyday that even if you don't raise them from babies doesn't mean you can't love them like you did. Then again it still Pisses-Me-Off that I have to finish the job or clean up the mess from her real parents. That just makes me mad at them not at her.)

4. My parents (my ma and daddy were the best. Oh sure, I had the typical teenage girl angst but they dealt with it the best they could. It probably helped that my brother was a complete f**k up. I must have seemed like a walk in the park.)

5. My step dad (Daddy passed away 13 years ago and 7 years after that Bill came into our lives. He's made my mom happy again and in my book that's all he has to do.)

6. That all of us have jobs. (these days that's not a given. But, we all do; so we can eat).

7. Tripper & Nessa. (Those stupid boys of mine aren't giving me grand babies to fuss over so I have to resort to the dogs. How pathetic is that?)

This is hoping that your Thanksgiving (You Canadian's feel free to do it all over again) is wonderfully filled with family, friends, and food.


Love,
M

p.s. the postcard above is from 1923.

Concerts Past and Future

As JR and I were driving home from a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park this afternoon we started talking about concerts we have attended and ones that we would like to attend in the future. During this conversation I thought to myself (actually I sort of drifted off into Princess Michele Land while JR was talking) this would make a good list for Listlessness Monday.

Here are some that I’ve attended

1. Sly and the Family Stone (1^st concert I ever attended. Very eye opening experience for a small town girl) Sly even showed up. Not on-time mind you but he was there.
2. Led Zeppelin (I saw them around 1977. I slept out overnight at the venue because if you didn’t you’d end up with nose bleed seats. Festival seating could be brutal)
3. Leonard Skynard (I was lucky enough to see them when Ronnie Van Zant was still alive. I hear Sweet Home Alabama and I’m right back there.)
4. Genesis (JR and I actually took the youngest boy when he was about 5. The boy loved this band. We spent a year calling him Phil because the Boy wouldn’t answer to anything else.)
5. Eric Clapton (I’m sorry but I have to say this; I’d so do him. Not because he looks like he was rode hard then put away wet but because the sounds he can coax out of a guitar is seduction itself. )
6. B.B. King (he is still the definition of cool.)
7. Buddy Guy (the next best thing to seeing Muddy Waters. Who I didn’t get see damn it.)
8. Neil Diamond (All I can say is I’m sorry.)

People or concerts I’d like to see in the future

1. Paul McCartney (it’s that whole Beatles thing. JR and I have decided to start a Paul McCartney concert savings account or maybe we’ll just raid the Christmas savings account. The kids don’t need gifts and I really need to see McCartney. They would want me too wouldn’t they?)
2. John Mayer (I can’t get enough of the blues)
3. The Crossroads Festival (cuz, I could see all my favorite blues artists at one time. How cool would that be?)
4. Stevie Wonder (JR got to see him when he was a journalism student at Washington State University. JR got to see a ton of cool concerts back then. He got in with a press pass. I’m so jealous. He’ll start with I’ve seen this guy or that one and I’ll come back with I saw JP Patches (kids TV clown). It doesn’t seem to have the same punch. )

I grab this button from Anna over at abdpbt who happens to have a terrific post about debt reduction. I plan to spend some more time over there this evening. She suggests reading a book that I may have to inter-library loan. Sounds like good reading during the holidays.

Love,

M

Beatles Fan (God, I'm such a dork) and parenting style

Yeah I know the title to this post just doesn't work but give me a minute to explain in my 3 glasses of wine way.

I'll admit it. I'm old (49 last September)

I must be because I am a huge Beatles fan. In fact, I've been a fan since 1970. Yes, I know that the Beatles broke up 1970 that but that hasn't stopped me.

Back when I was in school; you were either a Beatles fan or a Rolling Stones fans. Never the twain shall meet. My brother was the Rolling Stones fan. Maybe that was why I went with the Beatles. (Probably not.) My brother and I didn't really get along. Okay, that is putting it mildly. I'm just not willing to put into words my brother and my relationship. Let's just say that I have a low tolerance for bullshit (not my words, but a co-workers. I think of that as a compliment.) My brother has bullshit down to an art form. Me, not so much.


Anywhoo, I love everything Beatles. When John Lennon died I was heartbroken and decried the sentence that Mark Chapman received. When George died I cried. He represented what I thought was good in the world. Tolerance, love, and acceptance. (God, I'm such a hippy) Really, I felt awful. When Linda McCartney passed away (though not part of the Beatles, she was an inspirational figure) I was disconsolate.

I meditate, practice yoga, decorated my office using Feng Shui principles, and try to achieve a Zen attitude. (Yep! That's me! An aging hippy.)


Maybe this whole obsession has to do with the fact that I was born 10 years to late (my mother's words, not mine). I would have made a great hippy. I would have fit right into any commune you could have conceived. I still would. My clothing/work/relationship choices verify this point. Ask my kids. Ask JR. They'll tell you that I'm the weirdest mother/wife around.

This whole hippy mentality transferred onto my parenting style. My girlfriends at the time were baffled. They wondered where I was coming from. It was the 198os for God sakes! It was the me generation. We were supposed to be our kid's friends. I wasn't my kid's friend.

I raised the boys with the notion that they needed to learn to make their own decisions. From the time that they were about a year old everything was a choice. When they were little it was this or that. As they got older it was this, that or the other thing. When they got even older it was this, that, the other thing, or whatnot. There was always consequences and rewards. It was all very spelled out. They never had to guess about what I expected and the rules never changed.

JR, God bless him, never second guessed what I was doing. He pretty much went by his dad's theory of child rearing. Let The Mom Do Everything. This worked for me and obviously for him. I could inflict my hippy ideas on the boys with impunity. I like impunity. It feels good (for me anyway. And really that is all that matters. Right?)

I have to tell you. Though I have strange ideas about what kids should be allowed to do (yes, I let my youngest ride his wagon, standing up, down our hill in an effort to make him understand that it was not appropriate. Much to my BFF's chagrin. She was absolutely appalled that I would let him do this). I felt that the boys needed to decide what they thought was scary and what was not. To them. Their ideas. Their thoughts. Their feelings. Only safety items were disallowed.

Running into the street with moving cars?
Not Allowed.

Digging a hole in the field that a Volkswagen could be dropped into?
Allowed.

Drinking paint?
Not Allowed.

Painting your room a strange color?
Allowed.

Chasing the ducks?
Allowed (as long as they don't stop laying. If they do? Mom's pissed)

Putting the ducks in your brother's room because he's pissed you off?
Not Allowed.

Convincing your friend to jump off the roof?
Allowed (as long as your friend is agreeable)

Pushing your friend off the roof?
Not Allowed.

Riding your Big Wheel down the driveway and running it into the gate?
Allowed

Riding your Big Wheel down the driveway into the street?
Not Allowed

Do you see where I'm going here. The boys and their friends could choose to do these things, good or bad but they knew that prompt punishment or praise was sure to follow. It was all about choices and feelings. If you felt you had to do something that I felt you shouldn't you had better be able to explain it to me.
Present a good case and you may get off.
Tell the truth and the punishment wouldn't be as bad.
Lie to me. Life got really ugly really fast.

Whether this had to do with my hippy ideals is debatable but during the 1980s and 1990s this was unheard of. Parents were conflicted. They wanted to be their kid's friends. Me, not so much.

It was not my job to be their friend. It was my job to:
a. love them and make sure they knew it.
b. keep them safe.
c. teach them to be thinking and responsible adults.

JR and I must have done okay. Both boys seem to be independent, thinking, responsible and reasonable adults. And, they like us. So I guess it's okay to be a hippy. Even though your friends still think you are weird.

Love,
M

Fashion 144 Years Ago

I don't care if this was made out of superior Satteen Twill and real Whalebone. That French hands lovingly stitched every seam. Or that their price and value can't be beat.
You couldn't get me into one if you tried.

Don't care how fashionable it was either.
I'm not very fashionable in this era I doubt I would I have been then.
Don't believe me? I'll prove it to you.
I wear high top Converse shoes with dress pants to work. I've even been known to wear my pink plaid Converse to work. I love my pink plaid ones.
I don't wear pantyhose ever! Hello! It's Phoenix. It's like broiling hot here!
I'm very into comfort. And I'm lazy.
Working this hard to just leave the house wouldn't really work for me.



Every woman wore one.
Not me! Would I jump off a bridge if everyone else was doing it?
Not now.
Sure, back in high school we'd get all liquored up and jump off the Flaming Geyser Bridge. (a bridge across the Green River near our house in Auburn, Washington. Thought I'd give some context).
But, then we'd do all kinds of crazy ass things back then. (stories for another time. No, I'm not worried about my kids reading about them. They already know about most of my misspent youth.)



Or that you weren't completely dressed without one.
Still wouldn't wear it!
(okay, people this is probably more information than you wanted)
I'm not really big into bras and undies ( Not big on the word panties either Anna).
Sometimes I forget all about them when I get dressed in the morning. Or at least the undies part. Bras are another story. It's the whole structure/foundation/age thing. Gravity is not always our friend.


Come on ladies! Fess up. These things just looked brutal.
Would you have squeezed yourself into one?
Would you have bowed to fashion?


A big sorry to all of you guys and maybe some gals who can't or weren't really able to relate to this subject.
Here's some Civil War battle sketches.
Forgive me?

Love,
M

Revisiting a Favorite

This week's Spin-Cycle from Sprite's Keeper is all about favorites. Favorite posts that is. I'm not sure I have any favorites I love them all equally. Yeah, right!

Anyway, I like this one a lot. It shows the real essence of Nessa. It is also lighthearted and silly which I need right now.


Would Someone Please Help Her!

This is Nessa!

This is Nessa's ball

Nessa loves her ball. I can not explain Nessa's love for her ball. It's a special kind of love. Some would say unnatural. Not me, I would say she's a retriever.

But truly, Nessa does need help. Nessa has a problem.
Nessa needs a 12 step program

Sometimes bad things happen to her ball.

Daddy has been known to lock her ball up when he vacuums.
It surely is pitiful when her ball gets locked up.

If I poke my nose at this door maybe it will release my ball.
Woof! Woof!
Help! Someone please help me!
I can't get my ball!

Sometimes, my ball get stuck behind the box that my people watch.
(It seems to get stuck back there when Mama throws it. I'm sure she doesn't do it on purpose or does she?)
There are strange things back there.
It scares me.
But I really need my ball.

Let me try this!
Maybe if I bark at it?

Maybe if I lean in far enough?

Dang-it!
Will someone please save my ball?
I'm desperate here!

Mama, my ball is stuck.
Will you get it for me?
Will you stop pointing that thing that flashes light in my eyes at me?
Geez!
Give me a break here!

I can't get it any closer to you Mama.
Throw it already!

Love,
Nessa

Randomness in all its Glory

I proudly present this post in honor of the Un-Mom's random Tuesday thoughts. She has made blogging on Tuesday easy for me by allowing me the opportunity to spout random nonsense. Yeah! I love random nonsense.

First up on the hit parade is my newest painting. Sure, you thought you were tortured enough last week, but, no! I have (I think) just finished a new one. This is from a photo that my blog friend Lacy posted on her site one day. Big FYI for you guys. If you post a picture on your site that I feel compelled to paint. I'll be asking ya for it. Be afraid, be very afraid. So without further ado:



It is now sitting on the fireplace mantel (I know fireplaces and Phoenix go figure) drying. Did any of you know that oil painting can take like a thousand years to dry? Ok, I lied. It's not a thousand years it just feels like it. According to my sources (mostly the internet and we all know that is the only place to get authoritative information, right?) oil paintings can take up to a couple of weeks or more to dry depending on the paint. This one has taken its place along side the Golden Gate painting.

Another random thing. Just after the election Nessa was rooting around in the boy's backpack (probably looking for a ball. She has a problem with balls. I guess they are addicting. Who knew?) and come up with this.

She's such a nut head.

Enough for now. You all have a great day.

Love,
M



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Charity Dog Walk Weekend - A Poem

The Arizona Animal Welfare League held their dog walk this weekend. Saturday to be precise.

Nessa and I wrote a little poem. Or I wrote and Nessa supervised. Without opposable thumbs Nessa has hard time writing so I took care of the problem for her (No, I didn't try to tape some thumbs on her. Though interesting craft project).

Fair Warning: I suck at poetry. I took a poetry class in college only to work my ass off for a "C". Nessa's only a little better. I fairly abused this lovely old poem.

Twas a day at the dog walk

Twas a day at the dog walk, when all through the park
All the creatures were stirring, yet nary a bark.
The dogs were all leashed to their masters with care,
In hopes that the dog treats soon would be there.

The boy was nestled all snug in his bed,
While a pounding red demon danced around in his head.
And Nessa in her collar, and I in my hat,
Had just settled in to walk off some fat.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I craned my neck to see what was the matter.
From up on the dais there alighted a speaker,
Who said, "now everyone tie up your sneaker".

The sun high in the clear blue sky,
Prepared to give heat-stroke to those who would try.
When, what to my wandering eyes should appear,
But a puppy like Nessa was standing right near.

She was all golden, so sweet and petite,
I hardly had the heart to announce her big feet.
Her owners, so proud of their new little baby,
Maybe she'll stay small?, Yeah, right, maybe!

Come Ginger! come, Sparky! come, Patches and Missy!
Down Bruno! off Lucy! on, Zeke and on Chrissy!
So off on our walk, all the owner's called heel,
While the pooches all thought, hey! what's the deal?

I'm not done sniffing the butts that go by,
When their owners drag them away, still the dogs try.
So off down the trail the dogs and the owners did stroll,
With poop bags at ready to scoop up toll.

Then Nessa laid a big pile of poop, I saw,
And I picked it up because that is the law.
Nessa was calm and I tried not to gape,
But, as we got to the street she went kind of ape.

I calmed her down as best as I could,
and she walked like a princess, like I knew she would.
The event planners put out bowls full of water,
but Nessa wouldn't drink from bowls full of slobber.

As we near the finish under the mid-November sun,
I could tell that Nessa was just about done.
The promise of treats and a nice little nap,
saw us finishing the walk in only a snap.

Now, all in all it was a good day
which leaves me with only one thing to say.
All you donors please give to the cause,
cuz, these little doggies are down on their paws.

Thank you and the Arizona Animal Welfare League, PAWS, and the Humane Society thanks you! The 600 people and their dogs who collected donations and walked on Saturday thanks you!

And, I thank you for putting up with bad poetry. I realize that is similar to Vogon poetry, or an experience similar to torture but there you have it.

Love,
M

Martini and Movie Night or Pink drinks all around

It's Friday, Yeah!!!!

Most Friday evenings we have a few friends over for martinis or your beverage of choice, some munchies, and entertainment.

For the beverage portion of the evening I typically go for red wine. Not because I don't like myself a good martini but ever since I had a bad case of food poisoning (damn you Pendleton, Oregon) I really have to watch my whole vodka intake (it seems I have very little willpower when it comes to vodka). My friend Julie goes for Cosmopolitans in a big way. She likes herself some pink drinks. If I could make them fizzy she'd be even more excited. Lisa is pretty egalitarian, she'll choose anything from ice water to beer to pink drinks. Lisa's like that and we love her for it.

The munchies consist mainly of nachos, quesadillas, bruschetta & cheese or whatever strikes our fancy and I have on hand. This topping is one of our favorites. I think I'll goes roast myself some tomatoes right now. BRB. Okay, their in the oven now. Oh, I can't forget the goat cheese.

For the entertainment portion of the evening we tend to watch movies, do crafty sorta stuff, talk about books we are reading, bitch about work, and chat. All kinds of chatting goes on. For tonight I think I'll offer up movies from the Library of Congress.

Does that sound weird? It shouldn't the Library of Congress (LOC) has some of the coolest old movies around. Some of you may not know but the LOC is mandated to collect one of everything published since revolutionary times. Not that they have just that they try. Sort of like I do. It's a strange government documents thing. We'll go on.

LOC has digitized a lot of their material and posted it here: Library of Congress American Memory Project. You can see broadsides from past elections back to about 1802, life histories from the Works Project Administration (WPA) and panoramic photographs from 1851 to 1991. So I check out the LOC project. Just keeping up with the competition. I have some new ideas in the works that are going to blow the socks off of their site. I can't compete in the coolness of their collection, I mean damn! But, I can have a more innovated web site. By the spring of 2009 I'll have a new homepage with our google gadget embeded and.... Oh sorry, off topic. I tend to lose myself in my geekness.

My all time favorite part of the American Memory Project is the motion pictures. These early motion pictures are fun to watch. It is interesting to think about how these men explored this new media. You can get to them from here: Online Films. The LOC has lots of stuff from Thomas Edison also: Edison Motion Pictures. Here's the Annie Oakely film that Edison did in 1894.

Another feature is the Before & After the Great Earthquake and Fire in San Francisco: "This collection consists of twenty-six films of San Francisco from before and after the Great Earthquake and Fire, 1897-1916. Seventeen of the films depict San Francisco and its environs before the 1906 disaster. Seven films describe the great earthquake and fire. The two later films include a 1915 travelogue that shows scenes of the rebuilt city and a tour of the Panama Pacific Exposition and a 1916 propaganda film."

Most of these films are quite short. None that I've come across have sound though there are sound recording that you can listen to if you want.

The Today in History and the Tomorrow in History are interesting. I urge you to take a few minutes to check out this site. I'm pretty simple so I could look at it for hours and have.

Have a fun evening.

Love,
M

Old books or what I did instead of going to the gym last night

Back in 1992 JR and I were tasked with cleaning out my in-law's house. The brunt of this endeavor fell to me. Mostly because I worked from home and he didn't. I didn't really mind this sort of thing with the exception of the mouse droppings I'd found in the basement. We had gotten rid of the mice by the simplest method possible. We stuck our cat in the basement with a litter box and a big bowl of water. Two days later no mice and a little bit fatter cat. The leavings from the mice were left to me.

If you know anything about depression era parents or grandparents is that they never, NEVER, NEVER tossed anything out. I found grocery shopping lists written on the backs of junk mail, manila envelopes stuffed with recipes cut out from the newspaper, old moth eaten clothes, and tons of stuff that just wasn't salvageable. Then tucked away I'd find a gem or two or six. There was my MIL's wedding dress & hat, my MIL's aunt's hand hemmed table linens, the box of Life & Look magazines from the 1940s to the 1960s, my MIL’s parents wedding certificate, and books. Lots of books.

I couldn't help myself I wanted to keep all the books. After JR smacked me upside the head a couple of times convinced me that I couldn’t keep all of them. I buckled down to pick the ones that I wanted.

I had to keep the first edition Gone With The Wind. I didn’t know it was a first edition until a couple of years ago I just knew that my MIL really liked it and I was feeling very sentimental.

I kept several of her and her mother’s poetry books. They loved poetry. They cut poems out of magazines and newspapers. They wrote their own. They received books of poetry as gifts. Whenever I came across something they had written I placed it in one of their poetry books.

This Longfellow was given to my MIL’s parents the year after they were married. I couldn’t tell when by the inscription but probably within the first few months. The copyright on this book goes like this:

1874 by Henry W. Longfellow

1902 by Ernest W. Longfellow

1907 by Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

According to the publishers’ note this illustrated edition was released to commemorate the centennial of Longfellow’s birth. Speaking of the illustrations, they are terrific.

Who writes this way any more? Never in a million years could I achieve penmanship this fine. Which is not surprising since I can be fairly spastic.

Another of the poetry books that I kept was my MIL’s A.A. Milne books. I really kept all of them. When we had her funeral service I recited poetry that I picked from her Milne books. She would have liked that. I think it surprised my Brothers-in-law at the time that I would have thought of reading my MIL’s favorite poetry. I won’t go into my relationship with my BsIL right now but let’s just say it is strained.

I found a whole set of Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia. These are very fun. I love the illustrations. These guys are HAWT! Not.

And last but not least and probably the most surprising find was this……

The copyright on this little gem of craziness is 1937 by the Eugenics Publishing Company, Inc. Five years before my in-laws were married. Hmmmm…..

Though it may explain a certain afternoon tea conversation between my MIL (age 80) and I (age 26) that revolved around comments by a radio talk show psychologist and oral sex.

Love,

M

Potato-Gorgonzola Gratin

I wanted to post this recipe the other day but since I hadn't tried it out I didn't feel it was right. You know I'm all about honesty here. Probably way more honesty than any of you really want.

Then.....

I cooked, I ate, I loved!

This recipe is from The Best of Cooking Light, 2004. So it can't be all bad for you. Unlike most of my recipes.

Truly, I love most everything cheese and cheese related. When you combined a starch with a cheese you have heaven in my book. Added value is that the calorie count is fairly low. It RAWKS!


Potato-Gorgonzola Gratin

2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme.
2 1/2 cups fat-free milk
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
14 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in thyme. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk; cook over medium heat until slightly thick (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly. Stir in Gorgonzola; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

3. Arrange one-fourth of potatoes in bottom of a 13 X 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, and spoon about 3.4 cup sauce over potatoes. Repeat layers twice, and arrange remaining potato slices over sauce. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup).

For any of you HASAY members here are the numbers:
Calories 254 (28% from fat); Fat 7.9g; Protein 10.6g; Carbs 36.8g; Fiber 2.8g; Chol. 22mg; Iron 1.5mg; Sodium 751mg; Calc 228mg.


This recipe is a real cooking time hog. Please plan accordingly unlike I did. Otherwise you are serving dinner at 7:30p.m. right in the middle of a new House episode. Which makes the husband and the boy take their plates into the living room so they don't miss a minute. And, you sit at the dinning room table all by yourself nursing a glass of wine. Well, not really. They put in a quick appearance at the table.

Unless you like to eat dinner at 7:30p.m. then this could be a weeknight favorite for you.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Love,
M

P.S. JR went back to not pushing his chair in tonight. I've been vindicated!

The whine that wasn't to happen but did anyway

At first I thought I'd whine about JR today. But, I can't. The bleep stole my thunder. Today of all days he chose to push his chair in after breakfast. This has been seriously making me crazy. He gets up from the dining room table and leaves his chair out. Yes, I know this is an anal retentive librarian thing but dang it really bugs me. I wander around the table every morning and every night pushing the chairs in.

I tease the other librarians at work about this. When a patron or non-librarian staff leaves a chair un-tucked it is a mad scramble to see which of us will push it in first. It is actually very funny. Okay, you probably had to of been there. Or be a librarian or be anal.

Anyway, JR has been doing this for years, leaving his chair out that is. It has also been bugging me for years. Sure, I could have said something but the man really doesn't do all that much to make me crazy so it was all I had to complain about to my bff's. Lame, I know. They are all talking about their husbands spending grocery money on expensive golf clubs, their husbands snore loudly, their husbands are controlling, or in one case her husband's girlfriend showed up to give her kids gifts. I am not making that up! I've got nothing to add to these conversations.

While, JR is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination he really doesn't do anything awful. In fact, if I can be honest here (and where else would I be) the man is just about perfect. He does the vacuuming, the dishes, and the laundry. He makes it very easy for me to be a lazy ass. Which I take full advantage of. What? I'm lazy but I'm not stupid!

The one thing I've got is the whole chair thing and today he spoiled it by pushing his chair in. The b&*^ard! I was going to take pictures and everything. Wahaaa.

I've wasted enough time on that. Now for some geek stuff.

With Christmas coming up I thought some of you might like to know that the American Library Association Service to Children has come out with their recommendations for Great Interactive Software for Kids, Fall 2008. It lists 7 different games for kids ages 6 to 14. I know that some of you have pre-K kids but I bet that any tech savvy preschooler could figure out a couple of these games.

I should have posted this at Halloween but forgot all about it. If you haven't seen any of the Commoncraft videos I urge to to wonder through their site. This one makes me laugh every time (Simple things for simple minds).

Zombies in Plain English


That is probably enough ranting for today. I'm one of those lazy state workers with the day off so I'll be painting most of the day. Thanks for listening or reading or whatever.

So after posting all this random and whining stuff I head over to the Un-Mom site and found this.





Love,
M

Top 10 Ways I Relax

As a self-proclaimed button slut (though I think that I like button tart or button wench better) I'll be doing a list today in honor of Listlessness Monday. So I'll be moseying over to Anna's site later on to pick up my button (Somehow, that just sounds so wrong. Sorry Anna). Then I'll wonder over to Sprite's Keeper to join the spin cycle because today you get a twofer. A list on how I relax.

Now, I know you are saying to yourself, "Self? Why would Michele combine 2 posts in one? She could so get some mileage out of this. Oh, right! She's uber lazy."

So in the grand tradition of lazy people everywhere here are the top 10 ways I relax:

No. 10: Genealogy research (I seek dead people).

No. 9: Watch Home & Garden TV (I love it when people spend way too much money on things they can do themselves)

No. 8: Watch Food Network (or as I like to call it Carnivore Network)

No. 7: Research libraries held by Colonial American's with a focus on how reading choices may have effected the establishment of American independence. (truly I do this.)

No. 6: Watch Fine Living (I console myself with the fact that the best 2 days of a boat owners life are the day she/he buys the boat and the day they sell it. This does count for yachts)

No. 5: Painting or drawing

No. 4: Sitting at the dinner table with JR & the boy drinking wine and rehashing our day.

No. 3: Reading trashy romance novels

No 2: Cooking and/or baking

And the number one way that I relax is.....

On Sunday mornings, sitting on the back patio drinking a non-fat sugar-free hazelnut latte watching JR throw the ball for the dogs and listening to Andre Gardener's Breakfast with the Beatles. Bliss I tell you! Sheer bliss.

Well, there you have it the button tart (we're trying this on for size) has fulfilled the requirements for Listlessness Monday and the Spin Cycle. I can now go forth to be lazy the rest of the week.

Love,
M

Speaking of Yak Cheese

This is our collection of wine corks. It sits on our wine fridge. It started out in the vase behind the basket then grew to fill the basket. I spilled the basket over just for effect. Please don’t be thinking that in a state of drunkenness I tossed a cork into the basket, it tipped over and I left it this way. Sure, that could’ve happened but it didn’t okay!

My son and I have been collecting wine corks for about a year now. The real ones not those rubbery things that wineries are trying to convince us are better than real cork. Is there no romance in their souls? Wine should be corked with real cork! Hello!

Those new fangled screw caps are right out. And, don’t try to trick me by making a screw cap look like it is a cork. Then I bring home the bottle; try to open it with my corkscrew only to find a screw cap. It spoils the whole experience for me. Sure, I’ll still drink wine, (I paid for it, didn’t I?) but I won’t enjoy it half so much as before and I’ll never buy your wine again. So there! Don’t piss me off with screw caps.

Anyhoo, The boy and I thought we’d collect these for awhile and have ourselves a little craft project. You know, make a trivet or tray out of them. A real old fashion family fun craft session.

Then what should show up in the mail the other day?

The Wine Enthusiast catalog!

I’ve never bought anything out of this catalog but I love looking at the pictures. No wait, I love the articles. That’s right! The articles! Does that make this catalog like porn for wine drinkers?

Does it seem kind of weird that I lust after the glass decanter stoppers?

The red decanter stopper makes my heart race. The blue is okay. I wouldn’t turn it down if someone gave it to me but the red really does it for me. For JR it would be the whole blue ball thing (sorry, ladies it had to be said) These were made in Europe; Classeeh.

That being said I’d have to actually have a wine decanter which would bring our wine consumption up to a whole different level. We would go from plopping the bottle down on the dinner table and just chatting about our day to a gen-u-ine cultural experience. Alas, I don’t think the food I serve could ever be consider gourmet enough (not to mention JR, the boy, and I) for the decanter experience. When the boy comes to the dinner table in his boxers culture goes right out the window.

I also need a pair of these pajama pants. Nothing says romance more then cotton pajama pants with wine glasses all over them. They would so beat out my old pajama pants with the wine stains all over them. According to the description these are "as sassy as they are comfy". It's like they know me!

I’ll be firing up the hot glue gun. I should have plenty of corks left over from the tray or trivet project.

I smell Christmas gifts. I knew that drinking all that wine was going to pay off. It had nothing to do with my stressful job. (There will be no laughing! Librarians can have stressful jobs. Really, we can! We just make it look easy. We work smarter not harder. Hehehe)

All that wine drinking will enable me to make all those Christmas gift even more special this year. There will be a history and a story behind each and every cork. Plus, (and if this doesn’t get you nothing will) collecting all these corks was a family labor of love. Ahhhhhhh!

Love,

M