OK, it's officially cold. I've enjoyed rocking my leather jacket straight into the new year, but after shivering visibly and audibly for at least one full day, I gave in and switched to the black cherry fleece-lined coat I begged for last year. A word to any future professionals out there: When investing in clothes, outerwear, and footwear, go for black, sleek and simple. It should transition smoothly among whatever personas you might need to have over the item's lifespan.
Or maybe I'm the only one who compartmentalizes.
This sudden temperature change also means that my basement tfoL is FREEZING. Granpa told me back in November that I would need some insulation down there, but it wasn't cold enough yet for me to flag it as a priority. So it stayed as-is. And now I'm regretting it. I might have to go back to wearing hats when I sleep, because I think my sinuses froze overnight. It is bitter.
I could go for a little snow, and I could stand if it stuck for a few days. It would be romantic.
Speaking of -- kind of -- not really -- I have not been doing my blogger duty in the venue-review vein. So here it goes.
Today I took my frigid, frigid lunch break at the Back Burner To Go, right around the corner from the office. I go there for the pumpkin-mushroom soup, which is delicious although I'm suspecting I might be mildly allergic to it. I also go there for the accents: It's a haunt for the local Hockessin stay-at-home ladies with foreign accents and sometimes cute foreign babies. They talk about books and vacations and, at least, today, my soup. This afternoon I also found honey stix there, something Ann and I have been hunting fiendishly since Day One in Sunny V.
Review #2 is overdue. On Saturday morning I went to the Perfect Cup looking for a simple breakfast sandwich, but when I saw sweet potato pancakes (with walnuts) on the menu I didn't really have a choice. De-lish! Especially since I love all things sweet potato: Fries, fried, baked, mashed, mashed and baked, scalloped, smothered in other delicious things like black beans and salsa and cheddar cheese... You name it. Pancakes was a new one for me though. Also, the vibe was so perfect for a Saturday morning: Bustling, buzzing, pleasant.
I had brought my book (Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore) and sat at the wall right next to the door, scoping like I do. Then this ADORABLE curly-headed baby and her family set up shop right next door. She was VERY friendly and her dad put his full attention to trying, sheepishly and unsuccessfully, to distract her from distracting me from my (obviously very private) moment. But I smiled as she waved her own palm-sized board book at me, and assured her that I was reading too. Dad leaned over his baby girl, still looking nervous, and said, "See, she has her grown-up book and you have your baby book! See?"
My GROWN-UP BOOK. I'm old. Little kids point up at me and say, "Mommy, why is that lady so tall!" Or whatever little kids say about ladies.
Speaking of my "grown-up book," I am not typically into vampires, despite the fact that Bram Stoker's classic was maybe the only book I enjoyed reading in 12th grade English. And I did get a kick out of Twilight & Co., at least until the movie came out. (A horrible-awful piece of cinema.) But I really did enjoy Bloodsucking Fiends. It was fun, and funny of course, but what I really liked about it was Christopher Moore's intricate attention to detail, his careful study of human interactions, motivations, and relationships. Leave it to me to pull that out of a comedic vampire novel with a lime green cover. Leave it to me to like it for its realism. Of all things.
It's the first in a trio, the second installment of which (entitled You Suck) I now have in my possession. But I've already started reading Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead. A delightful title, I know, but the introduction framed it as a scholarly report, an ethnography, if you will, about the Vikings. Like a dark, undead version of St. Olaf. I'm kind of excited about it.
Go ahead. Call me a nerd. I'll own it.
On a totally different note, I just got home from work and we now have a cat.
Or maybe I'm the only one who compartmentalizes.
This sudden temperature change also means that my basement tfoL is FREEZING. Granpa told me back in November that I would need some insulation down there, but it wasn't cold enough yet for me to flag it as a priority. So it stayed as-is. And now I'm regretting it. I might have to go back to wearing hats when I sleep, because I think my sinuses froze overnight. It is bitter.
I could go for a little snow, and I could stand if it stuck for a few days. It would be romantic.
Speaking of -- kind of -- not really -- I have not been doing my blogger duty in the venue-review vein. So here it goes.
 |
| Ann eating honey stix outside the farmer's market |
Review #2 is overdue. On Saturday morning I went to the Perfect Cup looking for a simple breakfast sandwich, but when I saw sweet potato pancakes (with walnuts) on the menu I didn't really have a choice. De-lish! Especially since I love all things sweet potato: Fries, fried, baked, mashed, mashed and baked, scalloped, smothered in other delicious things like black beans and salsa and cheddar cheese... You name it. Pancakes was a new one for me though. Also, the vibe was so perfect for a Saturday morning: Bustling, buzzing, pleasant.
I had brought my book (Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore) and sat at the wall right next to the door, scoping like I do. Then this ADORABLE curly-headed baby and her family set up shop right next door. She was VERY friendly and her dad put his full attention to trying, sheepishly and unsuccessfully, to distract her from distracting me from my (obviously very private) moment. But I smiled as she waved her own palm-sized board book at me, and assured her that I was reading too. Dad leaned over his baby girl, still looking nervous, and said, "See, she has her grown-up book and you have your baby book! See?"
My GROWN-UP BOOK. I'm old. Little kids point up at me and say, "Mommy, why is that lady so tall!" Or whatever little kids say about ladies.
Speaking of my "grown-up book," I am not typically into vampires, despite the fact that Bram Stoker's classic was maybe the only book I enjoyed reading in 12th grade English. And I did get a kick out of Twilight & Co., at least until the movie came out. (A horrible-awful piece of cinema.) But I really did enjoy Bloodsucking Fiends. It was fun, and funny of course, but what I really liked about it was Christopher Moore's intricate attention to detail, his careful study of human interactions, motivations, and relationships. Leave it to me to pull that out of a comedic vampire novel with a lime green cover. Leave it to me to like it for its realism. Of all things.
It's the first in a trio, the second installment of which (entitled You Suck) I now have in my possession. But I've already started reading Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead. A delightful title, I know, but the introduction framed it as a scholarly report, an ethnography, if you will, about the Vikings. Like a dark, undead version of St. Olaf. I'm kind of excited about it.
Go ahead. Call me a nerd. I'll own it.
On a totally different note, I just got home from work and we now have a cat.
 |
| She found the warm spot between the couch and the radiator. Smart Stellaluna. |
This post and the cat's name make me smile
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