The Menu

Happy New Year, kids.

We're staying in and spoiling ourselves tonight. Here's what we're eating:

Fennel, Persimmon, and Blue Cheese Salad

Steamed Lemon Broccoli

Roasted Potatoes with Gruyere

Chicken Tarragon

Ginger Pear Tatin

and a little bubbly, of course.

Cheers to you. If you're reading this, you're loved.

Making Christmas

After last year's gingerbread disaster, I didn't even try to be creative for the holidays. Then, I ended up with an army of undecorated spice soldiers, only about 6 of which were finished and gifted. And poor Kristin, they weren't even her kind of cookie. They made for great snacks in Cancun, anyway. But a funny thing happened this year. One minute I'm just wrapping presents, the next I'm surrounded by a cloud of snipped recyclables. This is what happened.



You can't accuse Trader Joe's of not being festive. Then, on Christmas, I found myself on the couch at 1 a.m. with an upholstery needle and some green yarn, embroidering a stocking for Mark without a hoop. Nutso. Christmas morning, mom was pouting for one of her own, so the madness continues.

Making thigs seems to just be happening, but since I just turned 30, there are a few goals I'd like to get out there. I may be talking about them here from time to time.

Run. I've got this nasty hill next to my home. I'm thinking I could make it up there without the serious pain it gives me now.

Shoot. Somehow I've ended up with my little dream camera, a Nikon D40x. Now I just have to learn how to use it.

Re-use. Yeah, we put all our junk mail in the blue bin. Pretty much everything that can goes in there. But it's still a lot of waste. Just look at all the stuff that comes home with me every Month with my maintenance prescriptions. The shoe for reference is very average sized.



So I'm thinking about trying to use some of the things we normally recycle immediately. I've gotten a start with the Christmas wrapping and some decorations, but there are a few tricks still up my sleeve.

The Shore

We're really feeling the season in San Diego, and it's not because of a profusion of lights. It's certainly not the weather. Nope, it's the quiet. Pacific Beach is a madhouse during pretty much every other season of the year. No parking, squealing and half-naked coeds, their detritus everywhere. It can get to be a bit much. But at Christmastime, ahh, you can breathe here. Mark and I went down to the beach yesterday for a little last minute shopping and a walk along the boardwalk. Both activities were so relaxing. Last minute shopping?? Yes, it was a breeze. The only tension involved Mark trying to get me to contain my over the top gift giving addiction.

And just as we were finishing our walk (it was so quiet we didn't even see Slo-Mo), we saw the one other true sign that it's a holiday in San Diego. Pauly Shore, walking his big fluffy dog, near Crystal Pier.


* I didn't take this photo - Thanks Austin Chron - but I like the orange shirt.

Merry Christmas to all.

Transportation

Well, it's pretty much done. The vortex (now just a lower-case item) has been tamed. Over about a day and a half I plodded along in my methodical, tortoisey fashion. Don't knock it - I found at least two hundred dollars worth of gift certificates.

Mark worked a week of nights and then went straight to a week of regular (long) days, so I was solo but fine. And then on Tuesday, at four o'clock, Mark swept in. Several hours before I'd hoped. And within an hour, we were done. It was beautiful. It may seem anticlimactic, but wait until I get to go back to the Container Store to organize my art and craft supplies. THAT will be something. But not yet. So, next?

We were talking and planning the other day and are possibly going to be going out of town at least once in four out of five months. A lot of which includes seeking out more winter, and not for recreational purposes. Just planning that makes me think we're already a little bit batty. And I can see us, right around the corner, in an unrecognizable airport, acting out this scene from Overheard In New York:

Woman #1: These moving sidewalks are for the birds!
Woman #2: What?
Woman #1: The moving sidewalks are for the birds!
Woman #2: What birds?

And then after that? I think Kristin has actually made me want to sew the velvet curtains I want for our living room.

The Vortex: Part I

Here it is.




I'm off to give this mess a two hour spurt while Mark sleeps. He's still on nights, which should be a perfectly productive schedule for me, except that I can't so much sleep when he's not here. At any rate. I hope to make some progress, if only of the mental sort, this afternoon before I break for roasting turkey, and browning up some butternut squash & peas. Then on to Hanukkah (we're halfway through) and another fidgety night, unless I can figure out how to relax before 2 or 3 am. Let's hope.

On a more positive note, I did finish one thing. Ha.



It's context will remain secret for now so that I don't spoil any possible admiring that might happen during out little holiday gathering next week. Hopes Up. In the meantime, I am happy with it. Mostly because I was able to use up some junk mail in a very pretty way. One thing I've been trying to do more of, since there's no stopping the junk mail monster.