Happy New Year! I think of you both often. Have made the transition to vegetarianism. Maybe vegan one day. It’s a process. I love the challenge to be creative and the health benefits as well. Come to Austin and visit me sometime.
Karen
Okay, so I am coming to this way late, but I just wanted to commiserate on the Money Pit situation. We are considering selling our house next year just to avoid putting in a new roof and furnace. I know I don’t want to stay in this house for another five or so years, so I know we’d never get our money back (we’d have to finance those repairs). Well, there are other reasons why we want to sell but those are big ones. As it stands now we have a huge To Do list just to get the house ready to show. Ugh.
GREAT letter! But I was shocked to see the notebook paper with FIVE HOLES! At a Catholic school? No wonder you Mount Saint Joe’s/Joe Paradox chicks were completely out of control!
I would still love to do a little “wax on wax off” with Ralph Macchio.
Ever since my Granny’s house was torn down - it just hasn’t been the same when I visit my relatives. I visualize every detail - details that they have no recollection of or attachment to ... sad. :(
I had no idea your AC was out!!!
And I’m so glad we get to share the GLEE obsession together!!
I feel the exact same way about my grandparent’s house and it has been 3 or more years since it was sold. I still can’t drive by because I don’t want to see it without the milk tin on the front porch.
That is an excellent point. Wheat and soy-based ingredients are so prevalent in vegan cuisine, so to take those out of the mix could seem daunting. And, it’s a competition, so I’m betting nerves played a part, as well.
Ok, how awesome is Rick Bayless’ restaurant to be so accomodating? That says a lot about his leadership as the owner, and about his philosophy of feeding people.
What you’re saying about fake meat products is so true. From time to time, we overuse them for protein, because they cook up fast and are easy to add to one-pot meals. The most delicious meals are the ones which feature one key, flavorful ingredient, or those that require a bit more creativity than just opening a package.
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About Me
vegan. teacher. opinionated. loves books, shoes, hanson, ‘the amazing race’, the 80s, ‘waiting for guffman’, mid-afternoon naps, musicals and breakfast cereal. four cats. one redhead. hi.
I don’t think I can say it enough. I love Ikea. With the exception of about three things, our entire house is has been furnished by the good company of Sweden. Some of my favorite new purchases include this lamp and these chairs. In red, of course.
I bought this book: Beginning CSS Web Development: From Novice to Professional by Simon Collison with a gift card over the summer. It’s fantastic! I am a complete novice with this sort of thing, but I’m learning quickly thanks to this book. Thanks to Collison, I’ll never forget to top center my background image again.
If you like playing with color and color palettes, you’ll love this site - Colour Lovers. I’m playing with a blog redesign right now and it’s the perfect place to create a palette. Fun!
The house next door to ours has an SUV parked in the driveway. For the last two weeks the car alarm has gone off between 1 and 3pm every single day. We know this because a) we hear it and b) our neighbors tell us it happens throughout the work week. Last weekend my neighbor called the police to come over and have a look, and this weekend I called for them to come back.
I don’t even know who lives in the house. I know it’s a rental, and I know who the owner of the property is, but that’s about it. I’ve never seen the people who live there (they just moved in about a month ago). There’s a flyer in the front door that’s been there for about two days, so it’s clear that no one has entered or left the house. The yard is totally overgrown and all the window blinds are closed.
It’s probable that these people are on vacation. The police officer who came today to check things out smelled the doors to see if there was any evidence of decomposing dead bodies inside. Nope. And because the SUV is parked in driveway, on private property, he couldn’t go under the hood and disable the alarm, or have the truck towed.
All this is fine. Better than fine, really. This is what I want from my police department. Unless there is clear and present evidence of any kind of foul play or danger, I want my privacy (and my neighbor’s) protected.
In the meantime, I also have to listen to this g.d. car alarm going off every day. It’s a nuisance. I feel badly for the people who have to listen to this all week long and the kids whose naps are interrupted by this crap.
When the police officer was here, he told me that the SUV was registered to another address, with an unlisted phone number. Dead end. I gave him the name of the homeowner. After thirty minutes, he rang my doorbell to tell me they were unable to locate the homeowner’s number (I gave him the names of two real estate offices I knew she worked out of).
After he left, I googled the homeowner’s name. The first result that came up was her real estate office. I called. She wasn’t there. The secretary transferred me to her cell and I left her a message.
Now, why is it that I could locate the homeowner’s number in a matter of five seconds and the police couldn’t do it in a half-hour? I’m confused. As Tony said, “All I want my police to do is shoot bad guys, not look up phone numbers. If they can’t look up phone numbers I can live with that.” I agree totally. But still. It shouldn’t be that hard. Maybe they couldn’t find the number because they had to fill out Form #4218 (Finding Phone Numbers) and have it approved by three supervisors first.
My friend Jen (who has the CUTEST stuff for sale on her etsy site - go look go look!) sent this to me.
Band montage! Oh, and I’m just going to go ahead and declare a ha’s Take On Me as the best video of the 80s since I managed to completely abandon the tournament.
I’m back on the Clay Aiken bandwagon, y’all! And look out, because I think I’m gonna be on it for, like, ever.
Yesterday my friend Jane emailed me that Clay would be on the cover of People magazine, with his coming-out story in the pages. The first thing I did was yelp with joy, then I called Tony, and then I emailed my bestest Clay Aiken friends with the good news. I believe the subject line of my email was YAYAYAYAYAYAY! YAYAYAYAYYAYAYAY! was pretty much the tone of everything that followed for the next several hours. We’d been waiting for this day to come for what seemed like an eternity, wondering if he’d ever find the courage to just say it out loud, conservative fans and media jackasses be damned. It seems that his wee little darling baby (omg! cute pointy head! omg!) was the catalyst for the decision - one he’d made among family and close friends years ago. He says he couldn’t raise a child to learn to lie or hide anything, and for that, he gets a standing ovation from me. I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of him as a fan, and I couldn’t let this day go unmarked on my blog. After all, he’s the reason I started writing online in the first place.
I’ve always said that while some of Clay’s decisions have not thrilled me in the least, I’d always have a soft spot in my heart for him. That soft spot has hardened at times, but it’s always been there. After today’s events, I am rather certain that there is little Clay could do to lose me again. I’ve joked about him on a silly, superficial level. I’ve been angry with him, too. But to come out publicly as his most honest self, showing the world that gay parenting is a beautiful thing - I have so much respect for that. And so today, there will be no jokes, no snark, no poking fun at Clay Aiken. Today I can only wish Clay all the love, peace and happiness in the world.
I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. When I bought the tickets to see Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson at the Birchmere, I didn’t realize that concert would be the one after which all other concerts would pale in comparison. I guess I thought I’d have more time…
But from the moment the first chord was struck, that fate was sealed. Goosebumps crawled from my wrists to my shoulders, never shrinking until the lights came on, signaling us to go. I’d only seen Kasey perform once before, with her band, and it was more than amazing. But the combination of this acoustic trio (Kasey, Shane, and her dad Bill Chambers) and the intimate atmosphere of the Birchmere tipped the scales. The perfect harmonies echoed through the room and I thought that if church were anything like this, I’d have found my religion. Kasey kept reminding the audience that she wanted us to feel like we were sitting in their lounge room, at a family gathering. Gatherings in my family usually involve a lot of tomato sauce and heartburn, so her invitation was a nice change of pace.
If you haven’t heard Kasey sing, you’re missing out on one of the great female voices of our generation. Few artists have grabbed me as quickly as Kasey Chambers. Her voice is uniquely powerful, every note and word dripping with raw emotion. In one of her many engaging in-concert yarns, she tells the story of her favorite song on the new album, Rattlin’ Bones. She informed Shane, who wrote the song, that the only way it could be made better is if she sang it. That could be true of any song ever written.
Kasey’s exuberance is yin to Shane’s calm, introverted yang, and the blend of their voices makes it sound like they were meant to make music together since before they were born. Indeed, Kasey and Shane’s musical compatibility is bound to surface in their son Arlo one day, and the secret track on Rattlin’ Bones proves that it’s already showing itself in Kasey’s son Talon. She said that every night before Shane tucks Talon into bed, they sing an old country or folk song of Talon’s choice. One night Talon said he wanted to sing the one about the ants.
“The ants?”
“Yes, you know. The ants are my friends. They’re blowing in the wind.”
At one point I had to wipe away tears of laughter when Kasey mentioned that she and Shane had gotten into one of those marital arguments backstage before the show. Like most couples, they’d agreed on the celebrity freebie. The rules were simple - one celebrity that you could hook up with and the other person couldn’t say anything about it. Their only caveat was that it couldn’t be an Australian celebrity. Everyone giggled when Kasey revealed that her celebrity freebie was Jerry Seinfeld. Shane seemed to have no problem whatsoever with that choice. And Kasey had no problem with Shane’s either - Sheryl Crow - until Sheryl Crow’s management called to see if Shane would be the opening act on her Australian tour. Shane claimed the exercise was rather pointless if you could change the rules whenever you wanted, but it seemed that the female population of the audience agreed with Kasey that there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. Even if we didn’t understand her choice of Jerry Seinfeld.
Tears sprang to my eyes one more time during the show, and this time, I wasn’t laughing. Kasey decided to try out her song The Captain on piano for the first time, even though she wasn’t really sure if it would work on piano. Shane moved from his stool to the bench and plunked down the first note. As the last note vanished in the air, the audience looked around, well aware that we had witnessed something very special. The Captain on piano - yeah. It works.
After the show, we hung around, wondering if Kasey, Shane and Bill would emerge to sign a few autographs, but the Birchmere staff told us it wasn’t going to happen. We walked to the back door, where Bill and the tour manager were loading instruments into their van. After a while, we agreed to just walk back and ask if Kasey would mind signing a few autographs, promising not to keep them long because it was late and they were probably tired. What happened next was something none of us would have predicted, and we almost still don’t believe it.
Kasey, Shane and Bill walked out, all smiles. Tony made a beeline for Shane to talk about his music while I thanked Bill profusely for stopping to sign a few of our things. He recognized me from my seat at one of the front tables and said, “Eh, you had a nice seat there, didn’t you!?!” I said yes, certain now of the many times during the show I thought Bill caught me smiling up at the stage, and smiling back. He took a photo with us and I moved over to talk with Kasey.
I asked her to please come back this way soon and she reiterated that this show was the best one they’d played in America to date. I told her my face hurt from smiling so much over the last couple of hours. She agreed, and was genuinely excited about this show, you could tell. And she agreed that Sheryl Crow really has nothing on her. Heh. Kasey, Shane and Bill were more than happy to stand for photos with us and sign our CDs. Although I didn’t feel so bad about quasi-stalking them for autographs considering they quasi-stalked Arlo Guthrie in a hotel lobby so they could stick their baby in his arms and get a picture of Guthrie with his namesake. I love them.
Still, we didn’t want to monopolize them any longer, so I walked over to Bill to thank him again for taking this time for us. He grabbed me in a huge bear hug and thanked us for being such a great audience. As her tour manager tried to hustle us away, Kasey ignored him, too busy sharing kid photos with Tony’s brother John to pay attention. Every artist should have the graciousness and class of these folks.
Even if we hadn’t had this very nice encounter with Kasey, Shane and Bill, the concert would stand on its own legs. I can’t imagine that anything will ever come close to this show.
Paul McCartney’s ex-wife is donating $1 million worth of soy hamburgers, soy hot dogs and soy chicken cutlets to one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Bronx.
She tells the New York Post that she wants to make sure children in the neighborhood “have as many nutritional advantages as anyone else.
Then how about donating fruits and vegetables instead? Veggie “hamburgers,” “hot dogs” and “chicken cutlets” have minimal nutritional value, perhaps an iota more than those made with animal products and by-products, simply because they are made with soy. But only an iota. Processed food in any form contains little nutritional value, making her attempt to spread the “good vegan word” among the “poor” is just plain stupid, not to mention insulting to all parties. I’m not saying kids should never eat processed foods, I’m just saying she’s an idiot if she thinks providing them with soy versions of crap means they’ll be well-nourished in any way. Kids need access to fresh, whole foods, not unhealthy processed foods wearing a disguise.
Heather Mills and her publicist should try to find another way to improve her low popularity rating with the public.
I am swamped at work, but in a good way. This year is going to be fabulous. And I really needed to have the school year start out on a great note, because I’m still having a hard time with Linus being gone. We’re giving the other kitties all the attention and love we possibly can, because we know they’re grieving too. Ariel is super clingy, and Emmett is Mr. Mopey Pants. The Smoosh, though she’s not missing Linus like the other two, seems to be softening up a little, now that her arch nemesis (for no reason) is gone. :(
Thank god for the Project Rungay Boys. I’ve been watching Project Runway, but no time to blog about it. So I’ll just link to their fabulous updates:
The Project Runway Bryant Park Collections. All six remaining designers showed, and there’s no hint of who the decoys might be, although I have my suspicions based on the collections. I’ve been wrong a lot this season, though. I’m hoping for a Kenley-Korto-Leanne finale. Click through if you don’t mind seeing the collections ahead of time. And Tim Gunn as the finale judge! Thank you J-Lo’s “injury!”
Top Design ("We can’t live with your design???” What happened to “See you later, decorator?!?” If you’re going to do cheesy elimination catchphrases, Bravo, go all the way and stick with the cheesiest!) and Dr. Who (the first Tennant season) have been my distractions while grading papers, and Twilight, the first book in the Stephanie Meyer vampire series, has been my bedtime reading lately. The buzz about the book was so huge, especially among my students last year, I thought I’d give it a go. Plus I love vampire stories. It’s a quick read, and it’s entertaining enough, but it’s not living up to the hype, I think. One thing’s for sure - any girl who ever felt like an oddball growing up will love this series. Oddball girl gets hot guy. Ok, so he’s a bloodsucking vampire, but still. I imagine the books and movies will develop a large cult following of girls with hair constantly in their faces.
In other news, I am ridiculously happy for George Takei and Brad, who got married this weekend, and walked down the aisle to “One” from A Chorus Line. I’m anxious to return to NYC to see Spring Awakening again, as I fear it has taken over a part of my soul. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, so that will probably be on our agenda for the next trip. Wednesday night we’re going to see Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, and then we’ve got a Jason Mraz and a Hanson concert to look forward to in October.
I’m supposed to run my first 5K in December with a running club my school sponsors, but I haven’t had the time (nor the energy) to train after school. I’ve got to make the time, because I promised these kids I would do it, and it’s important to me to keep the promises I make to my students. I’m just so tired at the end of the day! *whines* It helps a bit that I’m now 21 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of the summer, but I could stand to lose a bit more. I’m sure the running would help with that. Still, I feel so much better than I did at the end of the school year.
All right. I’m off to make dinner and spend time with the person and the animals I love. Drop me a comment and let me know what’s new with you! :)
Vegan almond cupcakes with chocolate almond frosting
I need to blog about something to take my mind off Linus.
Yesterday, in an effort to keep busy, I decided to make cupcakes. I decided on a vegan cake recipe from Whole Foods online and a frosting recipe from The Post Punk Kitchen. I tweaked the cake recipe by adding some almond extract and didn’t exactly measure the almond or vanilla in the frosting recipe, so I’m sure I added more than I should have. \
The combination of this cake and this frosting was perfect. The cake isn’t exceptionally sweet, in fact, it doesn’t even contain any granulated sugar. The sweetness comes from 1/2 cup of maple syrup instead. The recipe could actually masquerade as a muffin recipe with the addition of some nuts to the batter. The frosting, on the other hand, is very sweet. I made a full batch, but a half batch would have been sufficient for a dozen cupcakes. The almond in the frosting recipe is a winner - it’s the most delicious frosting I’ve ever made.
Even if you’re not vegan, I promise you will love these cupcakes.
I just want to thank everyone who sent us emails or messages about Linus. You have no idea how much they helped, truly. It’s going to get harder before it gets better. When I got up today, I looked to the doorway, thinking I would see him sitting daintily with his two little white paws touching. He didn’t pad behind me when I went to make the breakfast plates and he didn’t push his head into my hand when I was scooping out the food. He’s not going to be there to play his favorite hiding game when I’m putting fresh sheets on the bed, and he won’t be curled up on my pillow when I go to bed at night. It’s all so weird. I feel like he’s supposed to be here still, but he’s not. I think I hear him mewing and I have to remind myself that it’s probably Emmett instead. Y’know, some people have animals who live in their house with them, and some people have four-legged family members. Those of us in the latter group know how much it hurts when these family members leave us. It’s really indescribable. Time will heal this wound, I know, but for know, know how much I appreciate all the kind words you all have sent. They mean the world.
This morning, Linus was unable to move his back legs. On the day his brother and littermate Milo passed away six years ago, he had the exact same symptoms - a result of a severe and debilitating case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. As soon as Tony brought Linus to me to see what was wrong, I knew how this was going to end. We rushed him to the emergency vet, and the vet confirmed my worst fears. Linus would not recover. I was holding him when he passed away.
Linus was a sweet and gentle cat right until the end. He loved to be held like an infant and would put his paw on your chin. He loved to sleep in pools of sunlight and he never complained when he had to have his nails trimmed. He was the best cat.
