Recycling Everything?

In two weeks, I will be flying 1500 miles to be in NH with my family for Christmas. The last time I was there, the zipper on the main compartment of the Samsonite suitcase (which I have had since the 10th grade) completely broke on the morning that I flew back to MS. TSA helpfully strapped my suitcase closed, and I made it back to MS without losing anything from my luggage. I then promptly blocked the somewhat shameful experience out of my mind until it resurfaced about three days ago when I started thinking about what I needed to pack for the next trip to NH. I went into panic mode for a little while, wondering how I was going to purchase a decent suitcase on such short notice and ridiculing myself for not being more prepared. I prayed that God would not punish me for my inactivity by making me fly home with my old nasty suitcase and that He would help me find a new one in time. Thankfully, while visiting a holiday craft fair, I came across a booth selling some relatively cheap but very cute luggage sets. I purchased an incredibly tacky brown and teal damask suitcase, duffel, and train case and returned home, satisfied with my purchase and feeling as though all was well in my world...

...until the question arose: What to do with my old suitcase?

It is taking up precious closet real estate in my tiny, almost storage-space-less house. Its broken zipper mocks me every time I go into the closet. "What are you going to do with me? You can't put me in the trash. 100,000 years from now someone is going to dig me up and think about what a wasteful person you must have been. Muahahahaha!"

Obviously, this suitcase situation is making me a little bit insane. I tried turning to the internet, the saving grace of every inane question which my overstimulated brain can formulate. I was extremely disappointed to find posts such as this as the main hits on my google search:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080514164004AA2RcQu

And this, when I googled about recycling my old coffeemaker as well:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080716065213AAvIxpv

Why do some people have such a horrible attitude about recycling? Americans spend so much time working to earn money so that they can purchase everything that they want, a privilege that the other 90% of the world does not and will not ever have, and then, when they are finished with these things that they so desperately needed to have, they

throw

them

away,

as though they never cared anything for the items in the first place.

I have always been of the opinion that everything can be reused as something else. Most of the things on my "American Desires" list include projects that I can make myself out of old wine bottles, cardboard boxes, milk cartons, plastic bags... you get the point. I find it both fun and funky to decorate my house with the reused items. I have a handbag, sewn by my friend Dan, that was made out of an old pair of his pants. I planted an indoor tabletop garden in some old, broken mugs that I bought when I first went to college. I make yarn out of plastic bags, and then knit them into new, sturdy bags (that can be recycled when they break!). Anything that cannot be turned into something else gets recycled. Anything that can't be recycled goes into the trash, and I have limited my trash output to about one small bag per week.

Some might say that I am just doing these things to make myself "feel better," and that might be part of it, but I really enjoy the satisfaction that comes from recycling and upcycling. It saves me from having to spend a lot of money purchasing mass produced items, and much of my stuff is unique, since it was handmade!

Anyway, back to the suitcase dilemma. I did visit a great website, earth911.com, where I found a ton of ideas for recycling, reusing, and purchasing earth-friendly items, but nothing about suitcases. Finally, I found a post about turning an old suitcase into a bed for your pet. While my suitcase is not nearly this stylish, it will make a nice place for my dog to rest. I can also store dog supplies in the top pocket. Perhaps it will keep her from getting my couch all hairy.

So, what about you? Have you turned an old suitcase into something cool? I would love to hear about it!

The Shelf

The kitchen is my favorite room in my house. It has many antiquated features, yellowed linoleum, and the occasional ant or mouse, but I still love it because it is where I spend time making food for other people, which makes me happy. I can deal with the fact that my stove does not have a vent hood or that the floor in front of the shallow sink is sagging, but this was too much:

I realize that part of the problem here is my mess, but due to the occasional ant or mouse, any food that is not in a can has to be on this shelf, away from the cabinets with mouse holes in them. (The milk cartons are for a later project, which I will post about when it gets finished.)

Jake the carpenter to the rescue! I drew up a rough sketch of a better looking shelf, and Jake started building.

Once the shelf was finished, I spent the better portion of two days painting it in my dining room.

Then I took the old shelf down.

It looks as though the last time my landlords painted, they painted around the shelf. So the kitchen used to be blue. Imagine that. (Incidentally, the bathroom mirror has the same thing going on.)

I will give them props for attempting to use drywall anchors for the hanging shelf, even though they failed...

...and I pulled them out with my fingers.

The wall needed paint, so I threw on a few coats.

(Notice that the wall curves at bottom left?)

Crackers the dog eats dinner in the mess that now consumes the rest of my kitchen.

When I installed the shelf, that curve in the wall came back to haunt me.

It looks like the shelf is peeking around the corner. Out of the six possible points of contact for the floor, two were actually touching it.

Jake came to the rescue again, shimming the shelf for me so that it would be level and sturdy. I put all the mess from the kitchen neatly onto the shelf, and it was finished!

So much better! It makes me smile every time I look at it.

Leeky Garlicky Pasta (with or without fried chicken)

I do not often make recipes that I find in magazines, but Real Simple, the only magazine to which I actually subscribe, published a delicious looking recipe (which you can find here) in this month's issue. I purchased the ingredients to make said recipe this weekend, and was planning to make it Wednesday, but when I came home from work this evening, I found myself to be an exhausted but ravenous food beast. (For serious. Teaching high school will take it right out of you.) I could no longer resist this leeky, garlicky culinary mess. Upon looking in the fridge, I discovered that I was missing about half the ingredients, but alas, the food must go on. With a little editing, here is my version of the recipe.

Leeky Garlicky Pasta (with or without fried chicken)

Ingredients:

As much spaghetti as you are planning to eat (or more, for leftovers)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 leek (just the tender portions), thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or thinly sliced

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Sutter Home Chardonnay)

1/2 cup heavy cream, whole milk, or evaporated milk, whichever is handy

One handful of greenery (I used marketside organic herb mix)

Grated parmesan cheese

Cut up your ingredients according to the ingredient list.

Get your pasta rolling so that it will be ready on time.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in whatever big pan with sides is available to you.

Add the leeks and garlic, and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Saute until wilty (about three minutes).

Add the wine and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in the milk product of your choice.

Stir in the pasta. Fold in the greenery. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cheese. Enjoy!

If you are like me, a vegetarian meal like this one will not satisfy on its own, so I made the chicken found in this recipe (from my absolute favorite food blog) to top my pasta.

My dinner came out quite nicely.

The only drawback is the kind of breath a dish like this will give you, but if you are eating alone it is not a problem!

I am considering this cake for dessert.

Pancakes for One

I woke up this morning feeling particularly grouchy. It was 6:30 (way too early to be awake on Labor Day), there were skeet shooters spraying down my house with birdshot, I was still sick with a swine-flu-like virus, and I knew that my milk was not fresh, thus killing any chance of having a decent breakfast. As I was laying in bed, feeling sorry for myself, I started thinking about pancakes. I have had this craving for pancakes for the past couple of mornings, perhaps stirred by the fact that my mom used to make sure the family always had a really good breakfast to look forward to on our shared days off from work and school. I got on the internet, surfed around, and found this recipe for pancakes for one. No milk required. With a little editing, here it is.

Ashley's Pancakes for One:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons toasted wheat germ
• 2 tablespoons instant buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• Butter and maple syrup

Directions:

In a bowl, combine flour, dry buttermilk, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, beat egg; add water and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until the second side is golden brown. Serve with butter and syrup. Makes about three thin pancakes.

I'm pretty sure the wheat germ makes them healthy, too!

Pan Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

During the summer, the Bible study group I meet with gets a little more relaxed, and whoever is hosting usually makes some kind of dinner for us to eat prior to studying our material. This week, Jake is hosting, and he is making pasta with two kinds of sauce. Well, I absolutely LOVE pasta. If you mention it, I will have to go eat some, and Jake mentioned it last Friday, which was a long time ago now! I made it until today, and then I had had HAD to make something with pasta. This recipe is from my mother (with my own twist on it), and it's really easy and delicious.

Pan Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

Penne Rigate

Olive oil

Two cloves garlic, crushed

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano

A handful of fresh spinach

Two fresh basil leaves, if you have them

2 Italian sausages, cooked how you like them and thinly sliced

Cook the penne according to the directions on the package. (I used 1/2 cup because it was only me eating tonight, and leftover pasta is not as good as fresh pasta.) While the penne is cooking, saute the crushed garlic in a splash of olive oil. When it gets relatively done, dump in the whole can of tomatoes. No need to worry about straining them. Cook this mixture over medium heat until the tomato liquid starts to form a sauce. At this point, shred in your fresh basil if you have it and stir the mixture around until the basil wilts a little. Turn off the heat, and shred the spinach into the mixture, stirring again until the spinach wilts. Toss the sauce with your cooked penne and sausage. Sprinkle on some parmesan for a tasty garnish. Enjoy!

When I decided to make this tonight, I only had frozen, uncooked sausage, so I decided to broil some in the oven as I lack a grill. Well, I started cooking the pasta and the sauce, opened the oven to check the sausage, and it was ON FIRE. I shut the door and just stood there for a minute, then had the presence of mind to turn the oven off and put a baking sheet over my fiery sausage.

I then had the following conversation with Christie via facebook chat:

me: so I definitely just lit a sausage on fire in my oven... go me

Christie: mmm i bet it will be so good tho

Because that's what friends are for.

The sausage was delicious. I highly recommend roasting it over an oven fire until thoroughly blackened.

Mmm!

Tasty Recipe

I'm leaving on a road trip to NH tomorrow, so I have been packing, planning, and running around all day today preparing. I did, however, take the time to make some cookie bars to bring on the road. One of my friends posted this recipe on facebook, which looked good to me, but needed some minor editing. (Peanut butter, raisins, and cinnamon applesauce? Not in my kitchen!) Here is my revised version:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup Bisquick (slightly rounded)
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup regular applesauce
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with whatever oil available; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, stir together baking mix and oats until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined.

Press dough into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. (Mine took about 18.)

Cool completely before cutting into bars. (I skipped this step and ate one while they were still warm. Mmmm!)

Here is what they looked like:

I can only figure that these are healthy-- no butter, no added salt, and no processed sugar. They have a different taste than what you might expect, as the flavors of the honey and the applesauce really stand out, but it is a good taste! I will be wrapping the rest of them up in some waxed paper and stowing them away for the trip.

Musical Obsession: Regina Spektor

(Photo from npr.com)

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! NPR decided to post Regina Spektor's new album on their website for all to enjoy. Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105518205

The Rain, Rain, Rain Took My Baby (Chive Plants) Away

I got all excited because I thought I was actually going to have success at growing something from seeds, but after a surprise thunderstorm during the night on Friday, I awoke to find that my chive plants had taken a steep plunge off the side of my porch. (Apparently they realized they were in my care and committed "chive-icide.") I thought all was lost, but then this morning, when I decided to clean up the carnage and start over, I saw this:

Somehow, despite the fact that over 75% of the soil fell out of the pot, the chives hung on. They are brave plants to continue to remain in my care... I plan to add more soil to them later, and vow to move them closer to the house when it storms from now on!

Do-it-yourself: Air Conditioner Repair

I recently moved into an old house that does not have central heating and cooling. Instead, it employs two window units to chill the place down, which usually works out alright as it is not a very big house. The a/c unit in the bedroom is a Whirlpool brand relic. I initially doubted its cooling capacity, but that thing has been an absolute air conditioning beast, chilling my bedroom down to temperatures that normally only occur in places like Siberia and the Upper Peninsula so that I may snuggle up under as many layers of blankets as I like, even when the MS weather is 90 degrees overnight.

However, in the past week or so, I have been noticing that the unit has been making some funny noises, almost like the fan was trying to chew something up. I did not think it was terribly abnormal, but it did seem strange to me that the noises only occurred in the morning, after the unit had been running all night. This morning I finally took a look at it, and this is what I saw:

That would be ice, people. Lots and lots of ice. There is only one cure for an ailment such as this one, and that is to defrost the unit. This can take up to 36 hours depending on the temperature of your house / outdoors, how much ice there is, etc. I decided to take the Ashley approach, which is always to agitate the situation in order to speed it up.

I'm pretty sure this goes against every electrical safety thing I have ever learned, but oh well. It is working, and I haven't lit anything on fire. Yet. It is really hot in here, though. (And I know, it's really messy in my house, but I just moved, which I think is a worthy excuse.)

That cup fills up about every 15 minutes, and I've been defrosting for about three hours, which should tell you how much water is coming off the thing. At least it's draining outside, not inside like I expected it to! 

Once this thing is ice-free and dry, I'll have to take a look to figure out what is causing the ice to form. It could be something as simple as a blockage in the airflow, which I can just adjust, or it might be that the unit needs to be recharged, in which case I will be calling the landlord!

In other, better news, my chive plants are growing! I actually planted something that grew! I had a couple of starter kits,

which came from Target c/o Jake, but I have a particularly brown thumb and can't usually keep my plants alive for longer than it takes to get them from the store to my house.

But there it is-- growth! There are actually two little chive plants growing. Hopefully they don't figure out that they're in my care and decide to kick the bucket.

To update on the a/c situation-- it appears the problem is a severely nastified filter. I plan to clean it off and let the fan run for a while to get it all dried out. Hopefully I can get it running properly before nightfall!

Midnight Cravings

It is the middle of the night and I am jonesing for some chocolate. I searched relentlessly through pages and pages of recipes on the internet, each one as unsuccessful as the last. Most of them take too long to satisfy my impatient appetite, but then I remembered this one, which my friend Joel sent me a few months back. It would be great except for the fact that I have no microwave and don't have a clue as to what temperature my oven is actually heating (not that the recipe says how to make it in the oven, but I'm open to a little experimentation). The reason why I have no microwave is due to a recent move, and I have been having a daily microwave vs. vacuum cleaner debate. I need both, but have only money enough for one, and I'm thinking that quick-midnight-chocolate-cake-recipe almost weighs out dead-bug-and-dog-hair-sucker-upper. Anyway. I then rummaged through the cabinets to check out all my ingredients, briefly debating making tapioca pudding before deciding that that is just the gross and desperate result of a tormented, snacky mind. After consuming a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips, I decided to make the chocolate cake recipe after all. Then I realized I have no idea where the dish I would bake it in has gotten to. So I ate another handful of chocolate chips and some coconut flakes, wrote this blog, and am now going to bed. Tasks for tomorrow include finding the baking dish and purchasing a microwave... maybe. I will probably just try the oven experiment.

Product Review #1: The Dark Roast is Yum

I absolutely cannot make it through the morning, at least not with the appearance of being any sort of human life form, without a cup of coffee. I'm pretty picky about the selection of my caffeinated beverage-- only certain brands are acceptable, and I like to grind the beans myself. I usually like to drink Dunkin' Donuts tasty blend, but here in MS the Double-D's are pretty difficult to come by (the stuff they sell in the grocery store is produced by Proctor & Gamble, so it's not "real," unfortunately). 

About two weeks ago, I ran out of my DD beans, so I switched back to the old standard, Community Coffee Medium Roast beans. They are a close second to the DD's, and waaaaaay more palatable than Folger's or anything else you can buy for a reasonable price at Kroger. Yesterday, I finished off my Community beans, and headed out to Kroger to buy some more. Much to my chagrin, Kroger had put the beans on sale, and the only bag left was Dark roast. Dark roast?! Noooo!! How am I supposed to drink dark roast in the a-m? Price speaks louder than any other variable, though, and when I compared the $4.99 beans to a lovely $10.79 bag of Starbucks, the Community beans won out. Well, I am sitting here now enjoying the most delicious cup of coffee I have had lately. The dark roast is not so bad!

On a side note, a DD's just opened about 30 minutes from my house, so I will be going there tomorrow to stock up. Nothing will ever beat out the DD's!

The Hunt

Although I have found gainful employment making old ladies believe that no shoes will love their feet like the shoes at my store, I do not feel that shoe sales will be a fulfilling job forever, so I have been busily hunting for another job. I am a licensed teacher, so it would make sense for me to find a teaching job. I'm having a lot of fun filling out tons of paperwork, and occasionally I find something excellent, like this recommendation form for one of the counties with which I am applying:

2. Check any traits below which characterize the applicant:
__Nervous
__Tense
__Discouraged
__Depressed
__Irritated
__Critical of others
__Argumentative
__Impatient
__Intolerant
__Domineering
__Sullen
__"Cocky"
__Easily embarrassed
__Frequently worried
__Prejudiced toward race or nationalities
__Lacks humor

(Later on the form...)

3. Is there any reason this person should not be considered? ____________________

So... any check marks in question 2 should probably answer question 3, right? Or is question 3 just in case my references haven't already said enough bad things about me? Just saying.

Musical Obsession: Azure Ray

Please enjoy the musical stylings of Azure Ray.

Musical Obsession

Needtobreathe.

Encouraging music for a change. Enjoy

Buy my stuff, y'all

You know you want to. Check out my etsy.com store, featuring some awesome knitted cards... as can be seen below.




Also, I got a job. Gainful employment!

Unemployment Blues

So here I am, back in MS after the holidays with noooo job. I had an idea in my head that perhaps one of the jobs I applied for before I took a month vacation would pull through, but that was not the case. Silly me for thinking that a Master's degree would be the answer to my employment problems! In any case, I've been back in the south for three full days so far (working on the fourth as I type), and I've spent those three days trying to find gainful employment. (Read : I have not applied at the strip joint. Yet. Nor do I hope to have to.) What follows is a step-by-step chronicle of my employment search so far.

Step 1: Do some laundry. Because, you know, if you're going to get a job, you won't have as much time for that anymore, right? Right. Laundry done. Interview-ready outfits clean. That was Monday.

Step 2: Drive to Columbus to use the internet because Tom, the guy who manages YOUR internet, decided to mess it all up and then not answer your e-mails. Thanks, Tom. Spend the day searching frantically through anything that looks like you could do it (waitress, census worker, babysitter? um, no thanks) and compile what feels like a mostly complete list of potential employment. Breathe a sigh of relief, which is followed shortly by a migraine that lasts all afternoon and puts a stop to your application process. That was Tuesday.

Step 3: Go through the entire list and figure out what you will need to do in order to apply for these jobs. Then, start doing those things.

Step 4: Resign yourself to the fact that you might actually have to use your degree. When I got my Bachelor's degree, I had just finished up sixteen weeks of student teaching hell, and so decided not to ever become licensed to teach in the state of MS. Bad decision! A year and a half later, I am shuffling through old paperwork and making trips to campus in order to complete the licensure application packet so that I can hopefully make some money. Steps 3 and 4 were Wednesday.

Step 5: Return to Columbus to use the internet, because Tom is still a biznatch. Tom, if you're reading this, FIX THE DAMN INTERNET. I don't pay you $25 a month for nothing. Hey... maybe I could have Tom's job! Anyway. Step 5 is now, Thursday, and I just finished applying for a sweet secretarial job that I found. The next step is to go take a timed typing test, which should be pretty easy to pass seeing as how I grew up in the age of IM. Then I'm going to apply to Lowe's. And the strip joint. Just kidding.

Chronicles of New Hampshire...

...not to be confused with New Hampshire Chronicle, which is a sometimes-good show that comes on the television up here in Yankee-land.

As I'm sure you will all be incredibly relieved to hear, I did eventually make it to my parents' house after my long, exhausting, and well-documented airport day on Thursday. On my return to the airport on Friday morning at 4:30 in the a. - m. (which, by the way, is ENTIRELY too early to go to the airport, but sacrifices must be made), I boarded my plane with no problems and flew the first leg of my journey to Atlanta. After an only slightly harrowing run-around to figure out which gate my plane was ACTUALLY at, I settled in next to a girl from Georgia who was going to visit her basketball-playing boyfriend at Dartmouth where, she informed me, she had been a student, but left NH to attend community college in Georgia because she didn't like the fact that NH has so much organic food. She likes her food to have flavor, thank you very much. She and I chatted about the merits of flavorful food for a few minutes, but were interrupted by a phone call from my mother, which went something like this:

Me: "Hello?"

Mom: "Where are you?!?!?!"

Me: "Um, in Atlanta, waiting for my plane."

Mom: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN ATLANTA?!?!?! WE HAD AN ICE STORM AND WE DON'T HAVE POWER AND WE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO COME GET YOU!!!!!!!"

(Okay, okay, maybe that's a little bit exaggerated and not fair, but that's what it seemed like to my poor, sleep-deprived mind.)

Me: "Uh... don't worry... see you in a few hours... bye!" *click*

Since my flight was on time, and we were getting ready to board, I didn't think it was necessary to get all worked up about a little bit of ice, so I went ahead and got in line with the rest of the tired-looking NH-bound people. Our plane was not at a real gate (hence my difficulty in finding it), so they loaded us onto one of those airport shuttle buses to drive us out to our plane. That was interesting, considering how many people can fit on a plane vs. how many people can fit on a bus. I won't go into immense detail, but it made the already-grouchy NH people all the more enjoyable once they were packed in like sardines. I found that the attitude remained the same once we actually got on the plane. I was lucky enough to be sitting in the exit row next to the grouchiest man of all, who I made sure to question cheerfully and in great detail about whether or not he felt capable of performing his exit-row duties should we experience some kind of plane emergency. My mother called while I was in the middle of all that, calmer this time, and so I gave her a description of the people on the plane. I have to say, NH people are seriously assholes. I'm trying to remove curse words from my vocabulary, but seriously people, WTL?! (The "L" stands for love. Which is not a curse word yet.) Take a deep breath and try hard to make it look like you're not actually miserable. Life could be so much worse.

So, with this cheer and optimism, I began day two of my trip home.

As the plane began its descent over NH, I realized that I should have stayed down south. From the air, I could see that everything was absolutely coated with ice. Thankfully, the Manchester airport has a heated runway, so landing the plane was not a problem. Once I got into the airport, I discovered that everyone working there had the same attitude as the people on the plane. A little Mexican man who wheeled my dog to me on a dolly informed me that the crate she was in was entirely too small and I was a terrible, inhumane pet owner. By that time, the attitude was catching, so I muttered something unflattering about illegal immigrants and took my dog, who was sleeping happily in the back of her crate. Thankfully, my parents came to get me shortly thereafter with no issue, and after a delicious lunch of Indian buffet (probably my favorite kind of buffet, if I have to rank them), we headed back to their house. It is important to note that all roads lead to my house, really, and there was only one which was passable. Trees and lines were down all over the place, and no one had power. See figure A.


It became more and more obvious as we neared my house that this was not an isolated incident. Nearly all of the area was without power, and the prognosis was not good. That evening, we ended up eating Wendy's for dinner (the line was out the door with people who could not cook), and going to Starbucks so I could charge my phone, my only outlet to the powered, connected world. See figure B, charging my phone in Starbucks sans shower.


Delightful!

To add to all of the fun, I had brought home a suitcase full of dirty laundry, operating under the (ridiculous) assumption that I would be able to wash clothes when I got home. This was, obviously, silly, and I will not do that again. (I wore dirty clothes until Tuesday night, when I had the good sense to wash some underwear at my aunt and uncle's house.)

Saturday night, still without power, I realized that I could take a shower at the storm shelter set up in our middle school. My brother drove me down and I had my first shower in 48 hours. It was delightful. See figure C, a sign on the door of the shelter.

Priorities!

My family was surviving well, as we have a woodstove and a gas stove, so we could cook and heat our house. Saturday night we made chili, and Sunday morning I made toast. See figure D, no-power toast.


Yum!

By the fifth day without power, my family and everyone else was beginning to lose their minds, as evidenced by the newspaper. See figure E.


I made a prediction that it would be two more days without power, and it was. This afternoon, I awoke from a nap to find that my alarm clock was flashing at me to reset it and the Christmas candle in my window was glowing brightly. My family returned to their normal sane selves almost immediately, my mom made a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin with apples, and I wrote this blog.

The forecast for this weekend is at least one foot of snow accumulated before Monday. Say prayers for us that the power stays on this time!

Airport adventuring

After what has seemed like an eternity, I am finally finished with my coursework-- thanks to a couple really, really good friends who made sure I did not lose my mind in the process.

Now I'm sitting in a tiny airport in Northern Mississippi, as I have been for five and a half hours, waiting for my ride to come get me. While this day has not been a success, it has been an adventure. Allow me to break it down for you.

9:45 - I arrive at the airport and get checked in. I am informed that my flight is delayed 15 minutes. The airport people let me keep my dog, and we walk around so she can sniff everyone. She and I are happy; the other passengers are not.

10:00 - Some of my former students arrive at the airport. We talk for a minute, and they attempt to pat Crackers, who forgets her manners and jumps all over them impolitely, so I take her back to security and put her in her crate.

10:45 - My flight is delayed by another hour. Scott, who is waiting with me, and I talk some.

11:30 - Scott leaves for work.

11:45 - The airport people decide that they will buy us pizza so that we will not starve while we wait for this flight.

12:30 - The pizza arrives, and I eat a slice of it in record time.

12:45 - I realize that I will definitely not make my connecting flight, and make a few changes to my itinerary so that I am flying into Boston.

12:50 - I purchase a Mellow Yellow from the drink machine. It gives me a Diet Dr. Pepper.

(One in six wins, but I definitely lost on this one.)

1:45 - I reschedule my flight. Again. The TSA people let me take my dog out of her crate to walk her around again. She tries to jump on some more people, so I put her back in.

2:15 - I download a song on iTunes and check myspace and facebook repeatedly.

2:45 - I check my flight status on Delta.com and realize that attempting to fly today is futile.

2:50 - I go to the desk and reschedule my flight for tomorrow, kicking myself over the fact that I did not do this to begin with and have now wasted an entire day sitting on the airport floor.

3:20 - I sit in GTRA, writing a lame blog and waiting to be picked up while listening to a really, really bad elevator music melody which somehow allowed room for a synthesizer, electric piano, french horn, and bongos to all play at the same time.

3:30 - I publish this blog.

Writing Like Some Kind of Crazy Lady

Three papers to write.

One (mostly) down.

Two (mostly) to go.

I have just proven my ability to perform simple math equations.

On checking my e-mail this evening, I discovered this poem by Tennessee Williams, published after his death (or posthumously, as those in the academic world like it).

WE HAVE NOT LONG TO LOVE

We have not long to love.
Light does not stay.
The tender things are those
we fold away.

Coarse fabrics are the ones
for common wear.
In silence I have watched you
comb your hair.

Intimate the silence,
dim and warm.
I could, but did not, reach
to touch your arm.

I could, but do not, break
that which is still.
(Almost the faintest whisper
would be shrill.)

So moments pass as though
they wished to stay.
We have not long to love.
A night. A day . . . .

Borrowed from

The Collected Poems of Tennessee Williams

By Tennessee Williams, David E Roessel, Nicholas Rand Moschovakis, University of the South, University of the South

Published by New Directions Publishing, 2002

which you may find here.

If I could write like that, I would be so money.

Macaroni and Cheese for One

Some things just should not be eaten as leftovers, and for these things, I am constantly in search of good "recipes for one." Today while writing an SLA paper, I got a craving for some uber cheesy mac and cheese, so I googled it and found a pretty good recipe. With some modifications, it is now baking in my oven.

Here's my recipe:

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
A pinch of black pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup grated or shredded cheddar cheese (I was probably a little more generous with the cheese)
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
A few shakes of 5th Season Chopped Onions, which can be had for only 50 cents in the spice aisle of Wal-Mart
(Rounded) 1/3 cup pasta shells, cooked and drained
3 Ritz crackers, crushed up

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper. Whisk in milk until smooth. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. It cooks really quickly, so watch it.

Add the cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and onion; stir until cheese is melted. Turn off heat. Add macaroni. Transfer to a 1 cup (or slightly larger) baking dish. (Those little Corelle-Ware dishes that you wouldn't use for anything but are really cute work wonderfully!)

Sprinkle with crushed up Ritz crackers. If you put them in a Ziploc bag to crush them, you can cut the corner of the bag open and shake them onto the macaroni, which works nicely and does not make much of a mess!

Bake, uncovered, at 350 F. for 10 minutes or until heated through. Enjoy!

I will add a picture at some point.