traffic and weather

I listened to a few songs off Traffic and Weather by Fountains of Wayne. I found it easy to listen to but nothing surprising. Sorry.

words of wisdom

I listened to the entire album Words of Wisdom by Brian Dewan and found it sometimes clever but mostly grating--just not for me.

petting frenzy

Today I've generated a ton of mail. I love sendsomething.net.

I found Kitty's brush, dusted it off, and bushed him, which put him into a petting frenzy. I think he enjoyed it a lot. The brush came with him--it must still smell like his previous owner, from seven years ago. Does a scent last that long?

Erik's working the second day of a two day job. I'm listening to a soundtrack that I got from the library because it has an XTC song on it, but I'm finding other songs of interest.

air conditioner fixed

Erik thought it had something to do with the power, so we figured out how to reset it, and it works great again. Hurray!

air conditioner broken

Yesterday the air conditioner stopped working. It was fine in the morning. Then in the afternoon it quit. I turned it off, cleaned the dust off the filter, and let it sit for about 15 minutes, hoping it would work again when I turned it back on, but no luck.

So it got hotter and hotter in the apartment. It maxed out at 93 degrees in the evening when it was 93 degrees outside. (Our clock has a thermometer.) I called the apartment management company, but of course there was no answer, and they don't have an emergency number, so I just have to hope someone will be calling me back today.

The air conditioner is from not last summer but the summer before, so it's not time for it to die yet. Maybe it can just be fixed.

Meanwhile, we went to target and bought a $13 fan. I'm not looking forward to today. The high today is supposed to be around 93, so it shouldn't be worse than yesterday.

fine how do you do

I'm back in Sac, and it's 103.

cabin trip

Yesterday I saw my friend P. We shared an apple and ate some delicious red grapes. We talked about all our friends.

Today I'm going on a trip with my friend M. We're going to her cabin in the woods somewhere near Angel's Camp and will stay two nights. It will be my first time sleeping apart from Erik since last summer when I went on that roadtrip with my parents. Originally she was supposed to pick me up at 10:30, but yesterday she called and asked that we push it back to 2:30 so she can watch a World Cup game. I need to pack.

haptic

I needed another pair of shorts before the trip I'm going on this weekend, so I went clothes shopping today, not my favorite thing to do, but finally at Thrift Town I found a pair of shorts--they're a good length. So I'm satisfied. We also went to the library where I picked up a book called Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.

Then we came home and Erik read to me from Spring Snow by Mishima. Then I made dal. I added cayenne pepper this time, but I added so little it can't really be detected. Next time I'll put in twice as much.

I learned a good word today: haptic. It means relating to the sense of touch. I think it's like gustatory for the sense of taste or olfactory for the sense of smell.

outage

This afternoon the power went out. We lost all the messages that were on the answering machine (we don't listen to them very often). So I hope none of them were important.

When the power went out, it was obvious because the air conditioner quit. Voices could be heard outside. Erik opened the door, and a neighbor yelled that there had been an accident and no one had power.

I wanted to go out to the store, where there would be air conditioning--I need another pair of shorts. But Erik got up before 4 this morning and same thing yesterday, so he's exhausted, so we stayed home. Then the power came back on in only half an hour.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I guess that's what blogging's all about.

freedom

We're done SAT scoring now--until October. It feels weird to be free.

angels, unicorns, and elves

I was pretty impressed with the boldness of They Might Be Giants saying angels are fake on track one of Here Comes Science which I just got out of the library. Erik expressed surprise that this was put out by Disney. Here are the lyrics.

Science is real
From the Big Bang to DNA
Science is real
From evolution to the Milky Way
I like the stories
About angels, unicorns, and elves
Now I like those stories
As much as anybody else
But when I'm seeking knowledge
Either simple or abstract
The facts are with science
The facts are with science

Science is real
Science is real
Science is real

Science is real
From anatomy to geology
Science is real
From astrophysics to biology
A scientific theory
Isn't just a hunch or guess
It's more like a question
That's been put through a lot of tests
And when a theory emerges
Consistent with the facts
The proof is with science
The truth is with science

Science is real
Science is real
Science is real

Science is real

How to Determine If BFF Is Your Favorite Band

I find this adorable and want to follow all the links when SAT scoring's over.

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/music/how-to-determine-if-best-friends-forever-is-your-favorite-band/

papaya

We tried papaya today. I liked the lime juice bites. Overall, it was good, but it kind of reminded me of melon.

Captain Beefheart

I tried listening to Captain Beefheart. It was too challenging for me.

getting rid of the tv

I would like to get rid of our TV, VCR, and DVD player. We use them--well, we haven't used them in so long. The rare times we see a movie, we watch it on Erik's laptop. The only thing is we have some stuff on VHS that I would be sad to think I would never see again. But it would free us up not having this TV and VCR and DVD player anymore.

The TV is so old that the DVD player wouldn't hook up to it and we needed to route it through the VCR. We bought it used from our friend A during grad school.

Kimya Dawson

As a burgeoning Antsy Pants fan, I'm getting interested in Kimya Dawson. I would like to hear Moldy Peaches and will investigate. Library doesn't have any Moldy Peaches but does have Kimya Dawson's kids' album Alphabutt.

sweet potato chocolate chip cookies

Today I baked vegan sweet potato chocolate chip cookies. I used baking paper for the first time. Do you know about this? You don't have to grease the cookie sheet--you just put this special paper down. I got it from the dollar store. It's pretty cool but unnecessary. I don't mind greasing cookie sheets.

Anyway, the cookies turned out fantastic as always.

porksword etc

Spam subject lines embroidered!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/noveltykitten/4710543513/in/pool-scs/

whole pea soup completed

Erik said it was the best pea soup he'd ever eaten. It took more like two hours for the peas to cook--the recipe said one hour. Even then the peas weren't really tender. But close enough. It's a very good simple recipe, but it made only two full bowls. I will double it next time.

whole pea soup

I'm making whole pea soup with tarragon for dinner but with parsley instead of tarragon because that's what I have--no idea if it will work.

I bought the whole dried peas to sprout a few months ago when I was crazy about trying to sprout new things, and now I need to use them up.

Michael Frost

The classical music radio station Erik and I listen to is Capital Public Radio. Our favorite DJ is Michael Frost.

http://www.capradio.org/programs/bios/biodetail.aspx?bioid=7

If there was a Michael Frost fan club, I would join it. He's my pretend friend!

facebook games

My friend Jeff has written a brilliant essay about facebook games.

http://open.salon.com/blog/jeff_maehre/2010/06/09/facebook_games_triumph_and_spiritual_death

more new music

Today I got my Antsy Pants cd in the mail. I listened to it right away and love it. I already knew some of the songs from myspace.

The nice guy Chris who runs Plan-it-x Records also sent me his new band's cd Hey Fuckers. The band is Imperial Can.

And he said maybe he's playing in Sac on August 28th. Maybe I will go see him.

melon

Today I was cutting up a cantaloupe for Erik--he likes cantaloupe and I don't. But it smelled really good. So I was wondering why I don't like it. Must be the texture. Maybe one day I'll try juicing it and enjoy cantaloupe juice.

edit to add: I think cantaloupe juice would be too sweet for me. I think cantaloupe in any form just isn't for me. But it's a very pretty color.

fail

I tried a recipe out of PETA's Vegan College Cookbook. I hate PETA for many reasons, mostly their way of trying to shame people about their bodies in order to get them to go vegetarian / vegan. But anyway, I thought there might be some good recipes. This evening I made the rice mixed with peanutbutter and soy sauce thinking it might be delicious--and so simple--but I was wrong. Erik said, "That's disgusting," and asked me to throw the book away. "It's a library book," I said.

results of sweet potato experiment

The dough was drier than usual, but they cooked up very nice. They're tasty. There is less sweet potato-y flavor. But there's a subtle excellence.

beautiful parking spaces

When we were at the de Young we saw some art that consisted of aerial shots of parking lots, mostly early in the morning before anyone was parked there. The arrangement of parking spaces is beautiful as seen from above. (I liked it when I saw it, but now I like it more. When we go back I hope that artist's work is still there.)

antsy pants

I facebooked but forgot to blog that I'm falling in love with Antsy Pants.

http://www.myspace.com/antsypantskids

sweet potato experiment

I bought a giant sweet potato that's supposed to be white inside, and I want to use it to make sweet potato biscuits so they strangely will not look orange.

mug

Last night Erik accidentally broke a coffee mug--he broke the handle off. It was brown and very '70s. I bought it at a thrift store in Bishop. It was slippery and slipped.

I sleep a lot but Kitty wakes us up a lot. He's a howler. Erik's doing well so far with his 80 hour week. Yesterday M came to see me--we went to my place of worship, to the garden. Then we went to lunch at my favorite vegetarian place in Fair Oaks which is overrun with feral chickens. Then we went to a Peet's and drank delicious beverages.

Police Mental Health

My good friend who's a cop pointed me to this blog by a cop who has a mental health background.

http://www.policementalhealth.blogspot.com/

Lego Opera

The first blog featured on this post, about operas being reenacted in Lego form, is done by my friend Kat!

http://www.blogher.com/random-blog-topics-done-well

hazard

Today we went to Whole Foods for water and bread and other foodstuffs. I read the receipt when we got home to find that the small nectarine I bought cost $1.20. Yikes!

Also in the news, I was petting Kitty today and he's skinny so I gave him the new name of Bony.

gift

This morning we went on a morning walk before it got too hot. There was a wind.

Yesterday was a fantastic mail day--I got letters from L in LA, P in Canada, and my cousin in prison. I also got a zine called Well, Here We All Are which is a travel zine. All of this was a great gift.

Today I talked to my mom on the phone. My dad's at a car show. I'm trying to decide whether to go to my cousin's wedding. There's the big annual event for my women's religious group that day. I have a while to decide.

dal

This afternoon I made the most delicious dal I have ever made. It's the red lentil dal recipe that can be found in my vegan cookzine Please Pass the Plants. I used cooked fresh tomatoes instead of canned. And I put in plenty of salt. It's wonderful.

friendliness

Yesterday in the evening we went for a walk. We saw a bluebird.

Santa Cruz

Yesterday we spent in Santa Cruz. We went to Sri Lankan food and two bookstores and the beach and the boardwalk. We went to a fun space-themed vegetarian diner called Saturn Cafe.

It was great to spend time with our friend M. Then we took him to the San Jose airport for his red eye flight home to New York. We didn't get to bed until almost midnight.

I haven't been feeling well for a few days. Tomorrow work starts--it's the last SAT scoring session of the school year. Today we did some prep, like buying groceries and housework.

This morning I helped P with the church bulletin. Swami gave me some cherries and said I could pick myself some loquats, but I was too tired to pick loquats. And I'm too tired to type anymore too. So goodbye for now.

overglued

New small press website--looks like it's off to a good start, will be smart.

http://www.overglued.com/

Anna Karenina

Yesterday we went to an excellent violin and cello concert at a church with beautiful stained glass windows. We tried to figure out what was happening in the pictures. It was sparsely attended, and I wish there had been more people so the applause would have thundered for them. They got a standing ovation again. I think they're really talented.

Then at night we went to a talk by Reb Anderson. It didn't speak to me like last year, but I'm glad we went.

Today we filled out our absentee ballots to deliver at the polling place across the street tomorrow. We also went to Sunflower and I had a super nut burger while Erik had the mushroom millet burger, his favorite. I researched Santa Cruz restaurants, looked at menus and everything.

I'm reading Anna Karenina for the second time, and it's kind of painful to read it knowing everything that's going to happen. Doomed!

call for submissions to monster contest

This is not my project--I'm reposting the call for submissions here to remember it.

***

Are there monsters in your closet? Or under your bed? Do you see them when you close your eyes? Do you love them? In celebration of the upcoming release of Lizzy Acker’s Monster Party, Small Desk Press is thrilled (and terrified) to present the Monster Poetry Contest. Send us a poem about monsters: think Frankenstein, Loch Ness, serial killers, childhood nightmares, the REM album, The Aileen Wuornos movie, etc., etc., etc. The contest winner will receive a free catalog of all Small Desk Press titles – including Monster Party when it’s released this fall – plus publication on We Who Are About to Die.

Please send submissions to contest at smalldeskpress.com by August 1st, 2010, and write “Lizzy Acker Monster Poetry Submission” in the subject line. Please include a cover page with ONLY the title of the poem. The winner will be notified by email.

hiding

Lately I've been sleeping lightly, getting woken up a lot. Last night was that way. So this morning I got up and had breakfast and went back to bed and slept until 11. Hmm, weird.

I've been back on sendsomething.net after a break of a few months--I'm again sending mail to strangers.

This afternoon is a concert I've been looking forward to but don't know if I have the energy for. Then tonight is a talk by Reb Anderson that I don't feel up to either. I just want to curl up and hide.

mail from Italy

dream come true

Yesterday I made the Tunisian potato salad I blogged about, and it's so good--maybe better than the lentil salad, even. We weren't able to grind the caraway seeds--they seemed indestructible. I had them in the mortar and pestle with the salt, and that didn't work at all. So I used them whole. Anyway, heavenly.

summer mode

I want to start getting up early to walk in the cool of the morning. Today we got up at 6:30 which is about as early as we get up, had breakfast, and went to our favorite park where I walked while Erik ran. It's good to begin summer mode.

Today I made mushroom curry. It turned out much less hot-spicy than usual but very delicious. Next up is mixed pea curry--I already have the rutabaga.

Just now I was researching the library's vegan cookbooks and requested a few.

potato salad with caraway

I'm working my way through a cookbook called From the Lands of Figs and Olives, and next I want to make this recipe.

POTATO SALAD WITH CARAWAY
Salatat Batata
Tunisia

Serves 4 to 6

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground caraway
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt
5 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderate heat; then add the lemon juice, caraway, cayenne, and salt, stirring constantly. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until some of the liquid in the frying pan evaporates.

Remove from the heat; then add the potatoes and turn gently with a fork until they are coated with the seasoned oil. Place in salad bowl then add the mint, coriander, parsley, and toss. Taste for seasoning; serve chilled.

***

I don't really do cilantro, so I will leave that out. I couldn't find ground caraway, so I think I will try grinding whole seeds myself in a mortar and pestle.

800 vegan recipes

http://www.alternativa-forum.com/pdf/800_vegan_recipes.pdf

The page numbers seem wrong, but there's some interesting stuff here. I'm hoping to make the tvp mole enchiladas but with a different mole sauce.

bizarre day

Yesterday was bizarre. First we went to the mall. Have you ever known me to do that? I was looking for a frozen yogurt store called Pinkberry that I thought was there, but it's not.

Then we went to Music at Noon. It was an amazing violinist and cellist that recently graduated from a conservatory in San Francisco. We're planning to go to another concert by them on Sunday.

Then in the evening we went to a movie! Have you ever known me to do that? We saw Book of Kells. It was okay. The trailers overwhelmed me--there's a reason I had not been to the movies in about four years.

Then we went to Pinkberry (I found online that it's actually at the strip mall known as Howe About Arden). I got chocolate with caramel sauce.

best lentil salad ever

I got fresh parsley, lemons, tomatoes, and green onions and made this lentil salad today. I think it's the best salad I've ever eaten.

lentil salad
salatat 'adas
Syria and Lebanon

1 cup brown lentils, cleaned and washed
6 cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 bunch scallions, finely chopped
3 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 a 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
at least 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Cook lentils in water until tender but still intact and slightly firm (about 25 minutes). Drain. Mix with remaining ingredients before serving.

***

The original recipe calls for a finely chopped red bell pepper also, but I don't like raw bell pepper, so I omitted it. Also, the original recipe says to cool the lentils, but we were in a hurry, so I didn't. This makes 6 to 8 servings.

the city

Today we went to San Francisco. It was monthly free day at one of our favorite museums, the de Young. We looked at a ton of art. Then we sat on a log in a redwood grove in Golden Gate Park. Then we went to Japantown. I looked at a lot of stationery. It was so fun to do something different. For dinner we went to vegan Japanese in Berkeley on our way home. Erik did great driving in the city, and maybe we can go back next month.

At the de Young there's a exhibit of Amish quilts, and they're beautiful. One looked like the background of Q-bert. We saw a new exhibit of art by William T Wiley--at first I didn't like his stuff, but then it really grew on me. The last piece in the room incorporated a poem by Michael Hannon.