quiet traditions

It's easy, of course, to fall into a scheduling rut now that I'm home all the time. Literally, all the time. Especially since I'm being a bit of a tightwad, and that eliminates a lot of things I'd love to do: yoga and pottery classes, some cooking technique workshops, a couple of night courses, more time spent at museums etc. It's not that I can't do things - but a lot of the things I would love to schedule my life up with are on the expensive side.

Which isn't to say that I'm stuck in the house. I have a million things I can do. I can volunteer, go on walks with the dog. I can find plenty of free or cheap things to do around the city. I am not stuck, by any stretch. It just sometimes feels that way.

So while some of the routines I've sort of entered into need to be broken up a bit, I'm also noticing and appreciating some of the routines that we have either deliberately set up or that have grown into traditions that I adore.

Things like Bunny making eggs and toast every weekend. Often my stomach isn't up for food around the time he wants to cook, but it's the sweetest thing ever. Other than maybe morning tea delivered in bed (yeah, I do get that. I'm spoiled).

The daily designated time Bunny and I spend with each other. Sometimes playing, sometimes napping, sometimes listening to some Barry White (wink wink). But every day we have a slot of time that's just dedicated to connecting. Sometimes its more for me, sometimes its more for him, but it's good for both of us.

Enjoying my morning latte(s). It's way better than a normal cup of coffee and it feels so indulgent. On top of which, it addresses a dairy deficiency in my diet.

Waking up to snuggles with my puppy in the morning. That is just divine. Seriously, the little pooper pants presses himself right into me and turns into a tiny little ball.

Grocery shopping together on Tuesdays. I love Tuesday grocery shops.

Then, there are traditions and routines I should spend time consciously creating. Like, uh, actually using my workout game for the Kinect a few days a week. Or even using the stepper while I watch tv in the morning. Maybe even create a chore schedule for the really annoying ones.

hunger games

Have I told you how I got sucked in? How I tried so hard to just not read this book?

I mean, it had all the Twilight type hype, and even though I gave in and read Twilight and was thoroughly entertained, I didn't really like it. I mean ok - there's a plot. But the rest of the book? Not much going for it. I had figured that the Hunger Games was going to be much the same.

Oh my lord how was I wrong. This series was utterly addictive. It had an amazing, overarching plot that broke down well. The pieces within the plot were well developed.

And the characters! The main characters were fully developed, which I often find is missing in novels (particularly YA ones). The supporting cast had a lot of holes, but it didn't become a problem given the first-person view point. The supporting cast in our lives often don't seem as rounded and complicated as they truly are.

The pacing was perfect. I kind of keep reading this .... scary, eh?

funky

So, uh, I'm a less than impressed to report that I spent most of last week in quite a bit of a funk.

As in a sit around feeling sorry for myself not getting anything done funk. You know what's lame about that? It gets me absolutely nowhere. I can whine all I want about life giving me some bad cards, but it doesn't change anything. I'm just sitting around with the same hand waiting for the world to change for me. Which just doesn't work.

This coming week is going to be different. The weekend is a break, as usual. I'm not holding myself to any promises. But during the week? I want to be back to at least 10-15 resumes out (a couple a day, average) plus some other stuff. I'm hopefully going to go visit an old roommate on Tuesday, so we can hang around, play games and catch up.

I miss this chick like crazy. It's like that with most of my friends from university: I miss them, but we just aren't in the same places to make hang outs easy. It's all intercity busses, and for some of them it's plane rides in between. The unfortunate thing is that these are generally the people who know me inside out, who know how I act and react and what I want and need out of life. The people who know when to tell me to put on my big girl shoes and get over myself, or if it's just time to let me cry for awhile.

My best friends, almost without exception, come from this time in my life. These are the peopel who where there with me during growing, exploring and fun. During more than one mental breakdown and fuck it moment. It's just a different quality of friendship, during that giant emotional growth spurt wherein you are just reaching to figure out those things that define you as who you are. 3am crying jags, essay all nighters, strange explorations of city, self and mental state, partying so hard you've never known the like. I feel like people who knew me in university, and still know me, have this kind of before/during/after picture where they know about how I got to be who I am, and understand and appreciate that.

Where they can see a little glimpse into who I might continue to become, in a way that many people can't.

They know the weird little things about me. Like how sometimes even if I'd really like help they need to offer because I just won't ask. They know that I love napping in other people's beds, but only while the bed owner is in the room and a good friend. How I adore shopping but am not ok with the spending money part. That even though I'm not a woo girl I do know how to party - and also that if I'm saying "no" to a drink or a night out that it's probably because I can't handle it (and they know how those nights end if I do go out). They know that my mind works in a slightly oddball manner and I think about things from a slightly skewed viewpoint. That I'd much rather smoke a joint than have a glass of wine. That I can't have a beer, on fear of death. (Literally). How even though I'm a bitch at times, I care probably too much about the people who matter.

I could really, really use more quality time with these people. I saw L last week, and I'm very excited to see A potentionally this week. She's pretty much a "kindred spirit", as Anne of Green Gables would say, and I think we are both aching for some time together.

Yellow Baboon!

meringue mission

You may remember how I've mentioned that on my way to learning how to make macarons, I have insisted on perfecting the meringue along the way. A good meringue is the backbone of a macaron, so I felt no sense trying any other way.

To recap: I cannot make the meringue by hand. I have not been happy with the results from the KitchenAid - possibly because it is the largest and I am generally doing only two eggs at a time. I did not have a spatula before for any folding.

Update: I now have a spatula. Well, I have had one for two weeks, actually.

Revelation: My hand mixer is ridiculous at mixing eggs whites. I used the wisk attachment for egg whites, and beaters for whipped cream (I made mousse last night) and was just agog at how easy this whole thing was. Could it be that the hand mixer is the way to beat egg whites?

So. We will have to revisit this. Meringues by hand mixer.

ack? disaster?

I kinda went crazy in the kitchen today. Bread machine bread. Chocolate mousse (delightful). Broccoli cheddar soup.

The sad thing is the soup did not make me happy, and it is kind of overshadowing the rest. It's grainy, rather than smooth and creamy, and I am finding the broccoli taste very weak.

My thought is that it's one of a few things:

• the soup was made from frozen broccoli stalks + 1 full head, maybe not the best idea
• no blender, and I've never been happy with how a processor handles soups
• not enough broccoli

We'll have another go later, I'm sure. Although for me to get a chance to make this soup is unusual: it's actually a Bunny specialty, and it's usually off limits to me (since he has relatively fewer specialties).

mac & cheese

The easiest of all recipes. In fact, I do not even truly use a recipe anymore, more work with what I have available to me and what feels right. I started off, as do most, with a basic bechamel sauce, and slowly developed my own.

This recipe is the single biggest hit I've ever had with Bunny. He's in love.

Of course, there are infinite variations. Change the cheese, change the seasonings, change the pasta. Add breadcrumbs, crumbled chips (oooh salty!) or more cheese to make a crust. Mix in bits of vegetable, or bacon or seafood. Delicious. More or less milk to create a thicker or thinner sauce (same with the cheese).

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 cups (approximately) grated cheese
• Note: I usually use cheddar, but seriously go wild. This is your own mac and cheese
• 1 package pasta
• Note 1 - I use shells. I find they hold the cheese better than macaroni, and I love how they reheat.
• Note 2 - my favourite way to measure the pasta? Take the casserole I plan on baking and dump pasta in it until you are 2/3rds to 3/4s full. This tends to cook up properly.
• Seasonings - my preference is:
• 1-2 tsps each garlic powder, mustard & cumin. But this is constantly changing plus of course salt to taste.

Directions.

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Bring pot of (heavily salted) water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and set aside.
2. In a separate saucepot, melt butter. When liquid, add flour. Wisk together and cook a few minutes until flour is cooked through. Add milk. Continue to wisk and incorporate the milk into  the roux. When the milk thickens (it will all come together, the roux will incorporate and the mixture will start bubbling), add your spices.
3. Turn heat down to low, and slowly stir in the cheese in small batches, until it is all equally mixed in.
4. In casserole dish, mix together cooked pasta and your sauce. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbly. Enjoy!

reading quirks

I read a lot. Thank you, Captain Obvious. When I say "I read a lot", though, I don't mean I read constantly, read a book a week or a month, or even that I aim for a certain number of books a year.

What I mean by "I read a lot" has nothing to do with that, though. I mean quite simply that I read a lot of books. Spoken by sheer quantity. So many books. Piles of books. My old room at my mother's house is positively overflowing with books, there are boxes upon boxes in her basement. Our spare bedroom/office is growing a book garden. We've run out of bookshelf space.

I've read almost all of them.

I go on reading binges. Times where I bury my head in books for weeks on end, travelling in my head from one land to another, from one author's fantasyland to the next. I go from genre to genre, though I tend to hover in a certain area for awhile. I also tend to devour the entire collection of any author I come to love, which is happening right now.

Currently, as mentioned, I'm devouring Christopher Moore's literary collection. I've been through Lamb, A Dirty Job and Bloodsucking Fiend and am on my way through You Suck. It's morbidly funny, twisted, dark, sick humour and it's fantastic. Pure escapist fiction at its best.
This got me thinking, as things tend to do. Thinking about some other authors whose works I have devoured. While I shouldn't have been, I was surprised to see so many parallels.

A score of science fiction and fantasy authors: Guy Gavriel Kay, Jacqueline Carey, Piers Antony, Neal Stephenson, JR Tolkien, Orson Scott Card.
A few kids and YA authors: Tamora Pierce, Suzanne Collins, JK Rowling, Roald Dahl.
Not an insignificant number of historical fiction authors: Pauline Gedge, Phillipa Gregory.
Of course, a few random authors jumped to mind: Jennifer Weiner, Paolo Coelho.

I shouldn't be surprised to note that I love the sci fi/fantasy genre, but my growing interest in historical fiction has sometimes surprised me. Although maybe it shouldn't, since I've always been in love with biographies. You'll notice the authors there are more modern; I simply prefer the language and dialogue in modern books.

Soon I'm going to have to find a new author to dig my teeth into. Any suggestions?